Genting Singapore shares drop 8.7% after Q1 earnings fall

[SINGAPORE] Shares of Genting Singapore fell 8.7 per cent on Wednesday (May 13), after it reported weak first-quarter net profit on Tuesday evening.

The counter fell as low as S$0.63 in the first few minutes of trading on Wednesday, erasing as much as S$725 million in market capitalisation with the S$0.06 decline per share.

As a result, Genting Singapore was the largest decliner on the Straits Times Index on Wednesday morning.

The company posted first-quarter net profit of S$65.2 million, down from S$145 million in the year-ago period. Revenue dropped 3 per cent on the year to S$607.6 million, driven by lower gaming revenue which fell 8 per cent to S$403.4 million.

The owner and operator of Resorts World Singapore said the war in Iran and related geopolitical developments have increased energy, freight and logistics costs, while elevated airfares have led to a drop in travel demand and consumer sentiment.

Genting Singapore’s poor results contrasted with Marina Bay Sands, which posted another new high for Q1. Its earnings, reported on Apr 23, rose 30.2 per cent to US$788 million.

This came as net revenue picked up 27.9 per cent year on year to US$1.5 billion, from US$1.2 billion.