Genting Singapore's 2Q disappoints as gaming revenue slows

The casino operator's results miss came after rival Las Vegas Sands, owned by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, announced smaller-than-expected quarterly earnings in July, hit by lower profits from the city-state and Macau.
 
With gaming revenue in Singapore facing headwinds, analysts say Genting's Malaysian parent Genting Berhad faces increasing pressure to expand overseas.

In June, the gaming group applied to raise its stake in casino operator Echo Entertainment to above 10 percent, potentially pitting it in a us$ 3 billion-plus takeover battle against Australian billionaire James Packer.

Genting Singapore said on Friday its gaming revenue in April-June dipped 4 percent from a year ago, as it earned us$ 246.25 million before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), or core earnings, down from us$ 307.4 million a year earlier.

This was below an average estimate of us$ 289.9 million, according to three analysts surveyed by Reuters. The company derives most of its EBITDA from its Singapore casino Resorts World Sentosa.

"Gaming revenue dipped slightly, but this was not unexpected given the overall slowdown in business environment, even in Macau," said Tan Hee Teck, Genting Singapore's president and chief operating officer, according to briefing notes of an analyst call seen by Reuters.

Genting Singapore's EBITDA was also lower than the us$ 330.4 million reported by Singapore rival Marina Bay Sands, owned by  Las Vegas Sands. However, adjusted property EBITDA at Sands' Singapore complex plunged 75 percent from a year ago, as gaming revenues fell 7.5 percent.