Shareholders of Genting Singapore Plc – which developed and operates the Resorts World Sentosa (pictured) gaming resort in Singapore – on Tuesday approved a final dividend of SGD0.01 (US$0.0074) per ordinary share for the financial year ended December 31.
The firm had said after market close on April 1 that it had cancelled a total of 11,989,400 company shares that it bought back in two exercises announced on March 9 and March 11. Share buy-backs combined with cancellations usually have the effect of concentrating the value of existing stockholders.
Singapore’s Straits Times newspaper said on Wednesday, in a report of Tuesday’s annual general meeting of Genting Singapore, that the firm had also approved 27.75 million “performance shares” – which the report said was worth SGD29 million at current market prices – to Tan Hee Teck, president and chief operating officer of Genting Singapore.
The report added that the vesting of the shares is subject to pre-agreed service and performance conditions. Not all the shares may be awarded if targets are not met.
At midday Singapore time on Wednesday, Genting Singapore stock was trading on the Singapore Exchange at SGD1.05, a decline of 23 percent on its 52-week high of SGD1.365, according to Bloomberg data.
The Straits Times report added the award to Mr Tan was “to keep him from being poached” and as a reward for his “role in Genting’s expansion abroad”.
Genting Singapore announced on February 12 that it had broken ground at a casino project on Jeju Island in South Korea, and hoped to open it in stages between 2017 and 2019.
In May last year, Genting Singapore also set up eight wholly-owned subsidiaries in Japan. Japan is currently mulling legalising casino gaming.
Genting Singapore reported a 30 percent year-on-year decline in net profit for the final quarter of 2014, weighed down said analysts by several factors including a reduction in rolling chip volume from high rollers.
Resorts World Sentosa is to boost its operational hotel capacity by a third when on April 30 it opens a new 557-room, off-site hotel.
