KUALA LUMPUR: Genting Bhd's third quarter ended Sept 30, 2023 (3Q23) net profit increased nearly four fold to RM520.52 million from RM128.02 million a year ago, on higher earnings with lower impairment losses, and higher share of profit in joint ventures and associates.
The group's adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) for 3Q23 was RM2.7 billion, an increase of 33 per cent compared with RM2.1 billion in 3Q22.
The higher share of profit in joint ventures and associates was mainly contributed from the Meizhou Wan power plant in China due to higher generation coupled with lower coal cost compared with previous year's corresponding quarter.
Revenue for the quarter rose 20.4 per cent to RM7.37 billion from RM6.12 billion previously, contributed mainly by the leisure and hospitality division.
As a result, the group registered a higher earnings per share of 13.52 sen from 3.32 sen in 3Q22.
According to Genting, Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) continued to benefit from the sustained recovery of travel and tourism by recording a higher revenue and Ebitda in 3Q23.
Resorts World Genting (RWG) recorded higher revenue in 3Q23 over 3Q22 mainly due to higher volume of business registered by RWG's gaming and non-gaming segments.
Consequently, a higher ebitda was recorded primarily due to the higher revenue which was partially offset by higher operating expenses in 3Q23.
The revenue from the leisure and hospitality businesses in the United Kingdom ("UK") and Egypt in 3Q23 was higher due to the higher volume of business.
A higher ebitda was recorded mainly due to higher revenue, partially offset by higher payroll related costs.
For the nine months ended on Sept 30, 2023 (9MFY23), Genting returned to black with a net profit of RM779.1 million from a net loss of RM131.2 million in the same period last year, while revenue increased to RM19.85 billion from RM16.02 billion.
Looking forward, Genting said the positive outlook for international tourism is expected to be sustained, although macroeconomic concerns could continue to be a critical factor in the effective recovery of the travel and tourism sectors. "Meanwhile, the regional gaming market is expected to continue recovering as airline capacity and air connectivity in the region improves. "The group remains cautious of the near-term outlook of the leisure and hospitality industry but is positive in the longer-term," it added.