GGRAsia – Genting Sing 1Q profit soars, Forum at RWS to be revamped

Genting Sing 1Q profit soars, Forum at RWS to be revamped

May 12, 2023 Newsdesk Latest News, Singapore, Top of the deck

Casino operator Genting Singapore Ltd reported net profit after taxation of just above SGD129.2 million (US$96.9 million) for the first quarter of 2023, an increase of almost 220.0 percent from the prior-year period. The result was up 7.8 percent from the preceding quarter, according to highlights of first-quarter performance published on Friday by the firm.

Revenue for the period was SGD484.5 million, up 54.0 percent from a year earlier. Judged quarter-on-quarter, such revenue declined by 10.7 percent.

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

The casino operator reported gaming revenue of just above SGD339.9 million in the three months to March 31, up 45.0 percent from the prior-year quarter, but a 8.6-percent decline sequentially.

It said: “On a hold-normalised basis, gross gaming revenue improved 12 percent quarter-on-quarter to SGD530 million.”

Genting Singapore recorded first-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of SGD191.7 million, up 53.6 percent from a year ago. Measured sequentially, it was 25.1-percent contraction, according to Friday’s release.

The company said operations at Resorts World Sentosa (pictured in a file photo) had “continued to benefit from the ongoing recovery of regional travel and gaming demand”. But it noted that “recovery of non-gaming business was constrained by lagging overseas visitor arrivals”, as airline capacity constraints “continued to cap incoming mass leisure tourist traffic”.

The casino operator reported non-gaming revenue of SGD144.4 million in the first quarter, up 89.3 percent year-on-year, but a decline of 15.3 percent sequentially.

Genting Singapore stated on Friday that The Forum shopping area at Resorts World Sentosa would “undergo an extensive transformation from May 2023”. Works are targeted for completion in end-2024.

The Forum’s gross floor area will more than double to around 20,000 square metres (215.278 sq feet) over three levels, “providing a wide variety of upscale restaurants, specialty shops and iconic concept stores”.

The firm also stated that the renovation of the 389-room Festive Hotel at Resorts World Sentosa had been completed and the property rebranded as Hotel Ora. It had a soft launch and started receiving guests last month, Genting Singapore said.

With the opening of Hotel Ora, the resort’s overall room inventory now stands at almost 1,600 keys, said the firm. “Other hotels such as Hotel Michael and Crockfords Tower will be renovated in phases,” it added.

The company also gave an update on a SGD4.5-billion expansion of Resorts World Sentosa, pledged to the city-state’s authorities and known as “RWS 2.0”.

“Ongoing construction works for RWS 2.0 strategy including Minion Land at the Universal Studios Singapore and the Singapore Oceanarium are progressing well with soft opening scheduled for early 2025,” it said.