GGRAsia – GEN Singapore 3Q profit up despite lower revenue

GEN Singapore 3Q profit up despite lower revenue

Nov 09, 2021 Newsdesk Latest News, Singapore, Top of the deck

Casino operator Genting Singapore Ltd reported net profit after taxation of SGD60.7 million (US$45.0 million) for the third quarter of 2021, an increase of 13.1 percent from the previous quarter. The result was up 11.5 percent from a year earlier, according to highlights of third-quarter performance published on Tuesday by the firm.

The increase in profit was despite a 9.2-percent quarter-on-quarter decline in revenue, to SGD251.5 million. Such revenue was down 16.4 percent from the third quarter of 2020.

Genting Singapore is the operator of Resorts World Sentosa (pictured in a file photo), one of Singapore’s two casino resorts. The firm is a subsidiary of Malaysian conglomerate Genting Bhd.

The casino operator reported gaming revenue of SGD194.7 million in the three months to September 30, down 13.9 percent sequentially, and an 8.6-percent decline from the prior-year period.

Genting Singapore recorded third-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of SGD102.5 million, down 30.7 percent from the preceding quarter. In year-on-year terms, it was a decline of 31.2 percent, according to Tuesday’s press release.

The company said its adjusted EBITDA for the reporting period deteriorated “due to the series of enhanced safe management measures introduced to curb the surge of new [Covid-19] community cases” in Singapore.

“Such measures included reduction in group size for social gathering and prohibition of dining-in at food and beverage establishments,” it added. “While most of our key offerings at Resorts World Sentosa remained operational, these were at considerably lower levels.”

The firm said in prepared remarks that it was “encouraged by the implementation of vaccinated travel lanes,” a scheme that allows business and leisure travel from designated countries into Singapore. “This is a significant milestone in the opening of our borders,” it stated.

Under the Vaccinated Travel Lane programme, which began on September 8, Singapore has admitted tourists from a number of countries, including Canada, the United States, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom.

In its Tuesday comments, Genting Singapore said: “In the short term, we expect minimal increase in overseas visitors’ footfall as the countries designated for this quarantine-free travel are from non-traditional source markets.”

The company added that there could actually be an impact on visitor numbers to Resorts World Sentosa because of an “outflow of the local population” to countries covered by the travel scheme.

On Monday, Singapore and Malaysia announced that from November 29 the two sides would permit air travel for their fully-vaccinated citizens, between Singapore Changi Airport and the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. Under the scheme, fully-jabbed travellers will be subjected to Covid-19 tests in lieu of serving quarantine.