Analysts cut Genting Malaysia’s 2022 net profit estimations

CGS-CIMB has lowered its forecast by 51.5 per cent and reduced expectations for group-wide 2022 revenue.

Malaysia.- The banking group CGS-CIMB has revised its estimations for Genting Malaysia. It now forecasts that the casino operator could generate MYR436m (US$97.8m) in net profit this year. The figure is down 51.5 per cent from its previous estimations.

CGS-CIMB has also reduced its forecast for company-wide 2022 revenue by 17.6 per cent, from MYR10.50bn (US$2.3bn) to MYR8.65bn (US$1.94bn). It says that the business’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic has been slower than expected due to “staff shortages”.

Analysts stated: “Despite strong demand, Resorts World Genting only operated 5,500 hotel rooms – out of a total of 10,500 – in mid-May, though this is up from 5,200 at the end of March.” In June the company reported that 6,000 hotel rooms were occupied.

Analysts also noted that in 2019, before the pandemic, tourists from China accounted for 7 per cent of hotel guests. Chinese visitors have not yet returned because China’s borders remain closed. Malaysia fully reopened its borders for international travellers on April 1.

They also noted that growth from Resorts World Genting’s new SkyWorlds theme park, which opened in February, had been slower than expected due to some “technical issues”. In June, Genting Malaysia said Genting SkyWorlds would be a key element of its post-Covid-19 growth and that it was working hard on a marketing plan to attract more visitors.

Genting Malaysia‘s revenue was up 176.2 per cent year-on-year to MYR1.72bn (US$391.3m) in the first quarter of the year.