Genting Malaysia can expect EBITDA turnaround in Q4

With the reopening of its major casinos the company can expect a recovery, according to analysts from Nomura.

Malaysia.- Genting Malaysia may see an EBITDA turnaround in the fourth quarter of the year, according to analysts from Nomura.

Despite negative numbers for the first semester, the company has now reopened all of its major casinos and the return of tourism is aiding the recovery of its flagship Malaysian IR Resorts World Genting.

According to Nomura, Resorts World Genting is already showing strong signs of recovery, with up to 40,000 visitors per day and 50 per cent of hotel rooms open at 90 per cent average occupancy since reopening in June.

The report said: “We expect Resorts World Genting to stage a gradual recovery over the coming quarters, with a sharp inflection come FY22 with the opening of the theme park (official timeline is mid-2021, but prone to slippages).”

Nomura research reveals that while Genting Group subsidiaries like Genting Singapore can expect a much longer recovery time, Genting Malaysia is performing well due to domestic tourism.

It said: “While international inbound traffic is essentially negligible, domestic tourism seems to be filling the void, as Malaysians are vacationing within the country.

“A study of Google Search Trends in Malaysia shows that while airline search trends are still below pre-Covid-19 levels, searches for terms relevant for local tourism within Malaysia such as ‘hotel bookings’ and ‘Genting’ are almost back to pre-Covid-19 levels, whereas search trends for Covid -19 have declined, suggesting fading fear factor.”

However, this week authorities have warned that some parts of the country may reintroduce measures to control the spread of Covid-19. That would involve the closure of casinos.