PETALING JAYA: Genting Bhd
expects international tourism to remain strong, with continued growth driven by positive demand and the ongoing recovery of global travel trends.
Consequently, the group says the regional gaming market is expected to maintain its recovery momentum.
Releasing its results for the fourth quarter (4Q24) and whole year of 2024 (FY24), and for 4Q24 itself, Genting posted a net loss of RM169.4mil, a reversal from the RM150mil profit it made in 4Q23.
Revenue also slipped 5.3% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM6.88bil, which Genting attributed to lower income from its Leisure & Hospitality division.
Looking at the whole FY24, the group saw net profit dip 5% y-o-y to RM882.9mil, despite a marginal 2.2% increase in turnover to RM27.7bil.
Delving deeper, Genting said the increase in yearly revenue was attributable mainly to the contribution from the Leisure & Hospitality division.
“Adjusted EBITDA, or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, of RM8,781.8mil for the current financial year was marginally lower over the previous financial year,” it reported.
In FY24, Genting said higher revenue was recorded by Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) as RWS delivered a strong performance across both the gaming and non-gaming sectors.
Although turnover has surpassed pre-lockdown levels, the group said rising costs and inflationary pressure remain significant challenges, contributing to a decline in adjusted ebitda.
Additionally, the revenue from Resorts World Genting (RWG) in FY24 was higher mainly due to an increased volume of business as compared to FY23.
The leisure and hospitality businesses in the United Kingdom (UK) and Egypt recorded higher revenue mainly due to higher volume of business, matched by Resorts World New York City (RWNYC) and Resorts World Bimini (RWBimini) who also saw higher income primarily due to higher contribution from RWNYC as a result of better volume of business.
At the same time, Genting said its plantation Division’s revenue was marginally lower in FY24, primarily attributable to lower sales volume in the downstream manufacturing segment, partly mitigated by higher palm product prices.
“However, adjusted ebitda was higher on the back of stronger palm product prices. The downstream manufacturing segment recorded a higher adjusted ebitda in FY24, attributable to improved margin,” the group added.
Meanwhile, the group’s subsidiary Genting Malaysia Bhd (GENM) similarly saw a net loss of RM457.9mil for 4Q24, as compared to the RM239.6mil net profit it made in 4Q23, even though revenue had stayed flattish at RM2.73bil.
GENM attributed the 4Q24 net loss to, among other reasons, the recognition of net unrealised foreign exchange translation losses of RM356.9mil mainly on its US dollar denominated borrowings recorded in 4Q24 compared with net unrealised foreign exchange translation gains of RM130.4mil in 4Q23.
It said higher share of losses in associates by RM13.2mil due to higher operating expenses in 4Q24 also impacted earnings during the quarter.
For FY24, GENM revealed that net profit decreased by 42.5% y-o-y to RM251.3mil, even though turnover grew 7.1% to RM10.9bil.
It said the revenue growth was primarily due to higher volumes of business seen in the leisure and hospitality business in Malaysia, the UK and Egypt, as well as in the US and the Bahamas.
While posting a higher y-o-y ebitda of RM2.9bil in FY24, GENM attributed higher operating expenses, including payroll-related expenses across all business segments, to the lower net earnings.
Genting declared a dividend of five sen per share for 4Q24, bringing its total dividends for FY24 to 11 sen, while GENM also proposed a dividend of four sen per share for 4Q24, bringing total dividends for FY24 to 10 sen per share.
