GGRAsia – MBS Q4 results leave analysts bullish on Genting Sing

MBS Q4 results leave analysts bullish on Genting Sing

Jan 30, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Singapore, Top of the deck

The fourth quarter results of Genting Singapore Plc may include positive surprises, according to two brokerages. The forecast is based on the performance of Marina Bay Sands casino resort during the same period.

Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands is controlled by Las Vegas Sands Corp. The latter announced its fourth quarter results on Wednesday. Genting Singapore owns and operates the Resorts World Sentosa property (pictured), the only other casino resort in the city-state.

Genting Singapore is a subsidiary of Malaysian conglomerate Genting Bhd.

“Genting Singapore could report sequential growth in VIP, similar to Marina Bay Sands,” analysts Praveen K. Choudhary and Xin Jin Ling from Morgan Stanley Asia Ltd wrote in a note on Thursday. “We expect Genting Singapore to see 7 percent quarter-on-quarter growth in rolling chip,” they added.

The Morgan Stanley analysts estimate Genting Singapore will post revenue of SGD919 million (US$680 million), an increase of one third compared with the year-earlier period. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) should stand at SGD352 million, up by 35 percent.

Genting Singapore is scheduled to announce its fourth quarter earnings on February 24.

Marina Bay Sands reported fourth quarter net revenue of US$839 million, up by 27 percent in year-on-year terms, driven by a higher win rate and overseas premium mass players. VIP roll declined 27 percent year-on-year to US$10 billion, but was up 10 percent quarter-on-quarter.

Analysts Tushar Mohata and Alpa Aggarwal from Japanese brokerage house Nomura said in a note on Friday that the Marina Bay Sands results could hint at better-than-expected mass-market performance for Genting Singapore. “We expect Resorts World Sentosa mass business to be above our estimates, on the back of seasonal recovery,” they stated.

Genting Singapore has plans for a US$2.2 billion casino resort on South Korea’s Jeju Island, in partnership with mainland China real estate developer Landing International Development Ltd. Genting Singapore’s management has suggested that ground breaking could take place in the second quarter of this year.