Genting Malaysia reported a doubling of profits in the second quarter of 2018 compared to the same period last year, in a filing with the Bursa Malaysia.
The company had a profit of MYR378.3 million ($91.6 million) for the months April to June, 117% higher than MYR174 million ($42.1 million) reported in the same period last year.
Revenue was MYR2.42 billion ($586 million), a 5.7% increase from last year’s second-quarter revenue of MYR2.29 billion ($554 million). The company also noted an adjusted EBITDA for the period of MYR701.8 million ($170 million), 31% higher than the previous year period.
Of the total revenue, MYR1.59 billion ($385 million) came from the casino operator’s leisure and hospitality businesses in Malaysia, where EBITDA grew 24% to MYR540.2 million ($130.8 million).
“This was mainly attributable to an improved hold percentage in the mid to premium players segment. The improved performance was also contributed by the new facilities and attractions under the Genting Integrated Tourism Plan (GITP), which have been well received,” the company said.
Overall adjusted EBITDA, the company added, “was aided by higher foreign exchange translation gains on its USD denominated assets in 2Q18 of RM29.7 million [$7.2 million] as compared to a foreign exchange translation loss of RM42.7 million [$10.34 million] in the same period last year.”
For the first half of the year, revenue grew to MYR4.82 billion ($1.17 billion), 6.7% higher than the first half of 2017. Profit for the period of January to June was MYR720.3 million ($174.4 million), 53.5% higher than the corresponding period last year.
On the same day, Genting Malaysia’s parent company Genting Berhad filed its own report with the Malaysian stock exchange, posting a second-quarter profit of MYR823.5 million ($199.4 million), down 6.5% from MYR881 million ($213.3 million) for the same period last year. Second-quarter revenue was MYR4.82 billion ($1.17 billion), 2.6% lower than last year’s second quarter.
For the first half of 2018, Genting Berhad’s revenue was MYR10.1 billion ($2.45 billion), 3.6% higher than the corresponding period last year. First-half profit was MYR1.94 billion ($470 million), 8.4% lower than in the first half of 2017.
Genting Berhad said the group’s performance for the remaining six months of 2018 would depend on, among other factors, its expansion in Malaysia into regional markets, Resorts World Sentosa’s scheduled food events, preparations for the Japanese government’s issuance of casino licenses, and a $400-million expansion at Resorts World NYC.
In July, Genting announced its issuance of medium-term notes totaling MYR2.6 billion ($630 million) to raise funds for its various projects. The issuance of the notes was in three tranches, of five-, 10- and 15-year maturities respectively.
