GGRAsia – New Marriott wing at Resorts World Manila opens Sept

New Marriott wing at Resorts World Manila opens Sept

Aug 24, 2016 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck

The new west wing of the Marriott hotel at casino resort Resorts World Manila will be in operation by next month, said on Tuesday Genting Hong Kong Ltd.

Resorts World Manila (pictured in a file photo) – located in the Philippines capital Manila, next to the city’s international airport – is owned and operated by Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. The latter is a venture between Philippine-based Alliance Global Group Inc and Genting Hong Kong.

Resorts World Manila – already featuring three hotels – is currently undergoing a phase three expansion. “Ongoing developments which will introduce three new hotels – Hilton Manila Hotel, Sheraton Hotel Manila and a new Maxims hotel – are expected to be completed by the end of 2017,” Genting Hong Kong stated in its unaudited interim report for the six months to June 30. The document was filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Tuesday after trading hours.

The firm added that the new expansion would “include additional gaming and retail facilities.”

“Looking ahead, Resorts World Manila’s phase four development will give way to more retail alternatives and another international hotel brand,” Genting Hong Kong stated.

The new wing at Marriott will add 228 new hotel rooms to Resorts World Manila, according to previous releases. Total room count for the exiting three hotels – Maxims Hotel, Remington Hotel and Marriott Hotel Manila – stood at 1,226 in the second quarter of 2016. Hotel occupancy rate during that period was 87 percent, according to Travellers International.

Travellers International’s net profit for the second quarter of 2016 amounted to PHP638.2 million (US$13.7 million), an increase of 3.1 percent from a year earlier, the company reported on August 15.

Genting Hong Kong’s share of profit from Travellers International totalled US$19.1 million in the first half of 2016 compared with US$22.6 million in the prior-year period. Genting Hong Kong said the decline was “primarily due to increase in general marketing and depreciation expense during the period.”

Cruise business

Genting Hong Kong – also an operator of casino cruise ships – reported a net loss of US$54.6 million for the six months ended June 30. The loss compared with a net profit of US$2.2 billion for prior-year period.

The company said the net loss was mainly attributable to the absence of a one-off accounting gain of US$1.57 billion following the reclassification of Genting Hong Kong’s investment in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd and the absence of a gain of US$599.6 million from the disposal of shares in Norwegian Cruise. Both of these operations were completed in the first half of 2015.

Genting Hong Kong, a subsidiary of Malaysian conglomerate Genting Bhd, has accelerated its expansion plans for its cruise business. “The company continues to develop its three-brand cruise portfolio with focus on each of the major cruise market segments – Crystal Cruises for the ultra-luxury segment, Dream Cruises for the premium segment and Star Cruises for the contemporary segment,” Genting Hong Kong stated in its Tuesday interim results report.

The company last month announced it would invest more than EUR100 million (US$113.1 million) to upgrade the three shipyards in Germany that it acquired in April. The move follows the company’s earlier purchase of the Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven shipyard in Germany last year. Genting Hong Kong plans to build new cruise ships to expand its fleet.

The firm’s new Asian cruise line, Dream Cruises, is scheduled to start operations in November, according to Tuesday’s report.