GGRAsia – GEN Singapore 1Q EBITDA to be 83pct of 1Q 2019: MS

GEN Singapore 1Q EBITDA to be 83pct of 1Q 2019: MS

Apr 21, 2023 Newsdesk Latest News, Singapore, Top of the deck

Banking group Morgan Stanley expects first-quarter earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) at casino operator Genting Singapore Ltd to be SGD268 million (US$201 million), above what the institution says is market consensus of SGD252 million.

The estimate if accurate, would also be 83 percent of the EBITDA generated in first-quarter 2019, the trading year prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, noted the institution.

Genting Singapore runs Resorts World Sentosa (pictured), one half of Singapore’s casino duopoly.

Morgan Stanley’s forecast follows the announcement of the results at the other Singapore venue, Marina Bay Sands, controlled by Las Vegas Sands Corp, which issued first-quarter numbers on Wednesday.

Marina Bay Sands’ quarterly adjusted property EBITDA reached US$394 million, circa 93 percent of first-quarter 2019 level. The EBITDA result was up from US$121 million in first-quarter 2022.

Morgan Stanley said in a Wednesday memo that its estimate for Genting Singapore’s EBITDA for the three months to March 31 would represent, on a hold-adjusted basis, a circa 4 percent improvement quarter-on-quarter.

Nomura Group stated in a Thursday note, that “while VIP volume growth and win percentage between Marina Bay Sands and Genting Singapore can differ materially – as we have seen in the past – the strong results at Marina Bay Sands offer a positive read-across to Genting Singapore”.

The institution observed that for January and February, visitors from Greater China to Singapore had been “merely 22 percent to 23 percent of 2019 averages,” while tourism from other regions had “recovered substantially”.

Though the analysts added: “Flight capacity between Singapore and Greater China is on the path to recovery, and we maintain our full-year 2023 forecasts.”

Nomura expects that for 2023, Resorts World Sentosa’s VIP rolling chip volume will rise by 39 percent year-on-year; the property’s mass table drop by 10 percent; and that its slot handle will also go up by 10 percent relative to 2022.