Genting Hong Kong Ltd, an operator of casino cruise ships and a joint venture casino developer and operator in the Philippines, said on Monday it expects a net loss for the six months to June 30 in the range of US$200 million to US$220 million. That compares to US$73.7 million in the prior-year period, according to a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The numbers contained in its most recent update did not include the contribution from Travellers International Hotel Group Inc, the joint venture that operates the Resorts World Manila casino resort in the Philippines.
The company said the expected net loss was mainly attributable to an operating loss in Crystal Cruises – a cruise line brand it acquired in 2015 – due to a more competitive environment, as well as higher marketing costs and start-up costs for Crystal Cruises’ river ships and private aircraft operations.
The Hong Kong-listed firm also said it recorded six full months of losses in 2017 at its German shipyards, compared to only two months in 2016. Genting Hong Kong acquired the shipyards in April last year.
“Despite the decline in its consolidated net results, the performance of the underlying core Asian cruise business has improved in the second quarter of 2017 compared to the first quarter of 2017, and the group remains positive on the underlying core Asian cruise business for the second half of the year,” said Genting Hong Kong in its Monday filing.
Genting Hong Kong – a subsidiary of Malaysian conglomerate Genting Bhd – has been accelerating expansion plans for its cruise business and has developed a three-brand portfolio of cruise lines serving different parts of the market: Crystal Cruises for what it terms the ultra-luxury segment; Dream Cruises for what it describes as the premium segment; and Star Cruises for what it defines as the “contemporary” segment.
The company reported a US$502.3-million loss in full 2016.
