Casino operator Genting Malaysia Bhd on Thursday reported a net loss for its shareholders of about $418 million ($96 million) in the first quarter of 2020 due to a decline in overall business due to COVID-19. The results compare to a net profit of about $268.3 million in the prior-year quarter.
The company has major operations at the Resorts World Genting Casino Complex in the Genting Highlands near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital, and also operates casinos in the United States, the Bahamas, the United Kingdom, and Egypt. The group also manages several other hotel properties in Malaysia that don’t have games.
Operations at the group’s resorts worldwide have been temporarily suspended since mid-March in an effort to stem the further spread of the coronavirus pandemic. All resorts remain closed in Malaysia.
“We are currently preparing to resume operations,” Genting Malaysia said in an announcement on Thursday, adding that the company is “focused on leveraging domestic demand to generate visits and revenue.”
The organization also said it was working on a “modified schedule” for the completion and opening of an outdoor theme park for the resort’s World Genting. The organization said construction work on the theme park had been “affected” by restrictions imposed by the Malaysian government since March. Previous comments from investment analysts suggested the theme park is scheduled to open in the third quarter of this year.
Genting Malaysia said it was already implementing “aggressive cost control” measures amid the health crisis. Those measures included a reduction in operating spending, including salaries, and cancellations or deferrals of non-essential capital spending.
Revenue was nearly 1.96 billion yuan in the first quarter, down 28.5% from a year earlier. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were 355.4 million yuan in the first three months of 2020, down 48.0% from a year earlier.
The group’s hospitality and leisure division posted revenue of just under 1.92 billion yuan in the three months to March 31, down 28.8% year-on-year. Gaming revenue for the period was down 30.1% year-on-year to nearly 1.45 billion yuan, the company said.
Genting Malaysia said the decline in gross sales and EBITDA in the first quarter was “mainly due to a temporary disruption in the operation of group resorts worldwide due to the COVID-19 outbreak, which severely impacted its business volume.”
There is no dividend proposal or disclosure for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.
Malaysia’s leisure and hospitality business reported revenue declines and adjusted EBITDA of 36% and 40% year-over-year, respectively, slightly below 1.23 billion yuan and 331.2 million yuan.
BY: 슬롯머신