MANILA - The online lottery system provider of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) in Visayas and Mindanao posted a 48% growth in profits during the first 6 months of the year, fueled by higher lotto and instant scratch ticket sales.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday, Pacific Online Systems Corp. said its net income for the 6-month period rose to P123 million from last year's P83 million.

As of end-June, Pacific Online's consolidated revenues stood at P495.5 million, a 30% increase from P382.3 million in the same period last year. The company said this was driven mainly by the "strategic roll-out of terminals, record lotto sales in February, more aggressive distribution and sale of PCSO's instant scratch tickets across the country, and continuous opening of retail outlets by the company's subsidiaries."

Pacific Online generated record sales of P859.4 million in February, 67% higher than last year's P513.2 million. In the said month, 2 winners shared the P347.84-million record pot of PCSO's 6/49 Super Lotto.

For the rest of the year, Pacific Online is expecting to sustain growth in sales and revenues for the rest of the year as PCSO lotto games continue to be popular nationwide. The company is planning to further increase scratch ticket sales and introduce new games.