GGRAsia – Genting HK flags eightfold y-o-y rise in 1H profit

Genting HK flags eightfold y-o-y rise in 1H profit

Jul 30, 2014 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck

Genting Hong Kong Ltd, a joint venture investor in the Resorts World Manila casino complex (pictured) in the Philippines, said on Tuesday its overall profits for the six months to June 30 will be even higher than initially estimated, at US$210 million – a year-on-year rise of 813 percent.

In a positive profit warning to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the firm said that “based on the preliminary assessment of the information available to the board including the unaudited management accounts of the group,” it expected to show for the period a consolidated net profit attributable to the owners of the company of approximately US$210 million compared with a consolidated net profit of approximately US$23 million for the corresponding period in 2013.

In a Monday filing the company had said it expected a net profit of at least US$180 million, which was mainly attributable to the gain from the disposal of a stake of 3.7 percent in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd in March, in the sum of US$153 million. Hong Kong-listed Genting Hong Kong is still the majority shareholder in the company, with a 27.7-percent stake.

In the latest filing, Genting Hong Kong justified the expected increase saying the company’s share of profit arising from its investment in Norwegian Cruise is approximately US$47 million for the six-month period ended June 30.

The firm also runs the Star Cruises casino cruise ships operating in international waters and based in Hong Kong.

The Manila casino operation – a collaboration with Philippine-based Alliance Global Group Inc via a joint venture known as Travellers International Hotel Group – is currently undergoing a US$600 million expansion.

In early July Genting Hong Kong said its president David Chua Ming Huat had tendered his resignation with effect from January 2, 2015. Lim Kok Thay, the chairman of Genting Hong Kong’s parent, Malaysia’s Genting Bhd, became acting president at that time, according to that filing.