Analysts reiterate call to “sell” as gambling operator continues to struggle amid the Coronavirus crisis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Malaysia.- Genting<\/strong><\/em> Malaysia<\/strong><\/em> Bhd<\/strong><\/em> has been hit the hardest by the Coronavirus crisis, according to researchers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a note released today, Affin Hwang analyst, Ng Chi Hoong, wrote that the group\u2019s facilities in Genting Highlands will not be operational for at least 14 days, adding that the group has also suspended operations in New York, US for two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are lowering our earnings per share (EPS) forecast for 2020 by 8.4% to factor in the shutdown for its Malaysia and US operations. We have also lowered our sum-of-parts-based 12-month target price to RM1.92 (\u20ac0.39) from RM2.10 (\u20ac0.43) and maintain our \u2018sell\u2019 call,\u201d Ng said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The analyst estimated that the loss of revenue for Genting Malaysia would amount to RM250 million (\u20ac51.8 million) for the 14 days it remains non-operational. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He added that the new outdoor theme park could see further delays to its initial plans to open in the third quarter of the year, given that construction works have been suspended until further notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the Malaysian government introduces social distancing in the casino, as has happened in Macau, the impact on Genting will worsen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOverall gaming revenue was already on a decline since early February, as concerns over the spread of Covid-19 in close proximity had started to deter customers from visiting,\u201d Ng added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Analysts reiterate call to “sell” as gambling operator continues to struggle amid the Coronavirus crisis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4616,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Genting Malaysia Bhd is experiencing severe operational and financial distress due to the Coronavirus crisis, prompting Affin Hwang to reiterate a \"sell\" recommendation. Analysts have revised the 2020 EPS forecast downwards by 8.4% and reduced the 12-month target price to RM1.92, citing extensive facility shutdowns in Malaysia and New York, an estimated RM250 million revenue loss, and potential delays to its new outdoor theme park. The report underscores pre-existing declines in gaming revenue and the exacerbated impact should further social distancing measures be imposed.","focusai_entities":"Genting Malaysia Bhd, Affin Hwang, Ng Chi Hoong","focusai_location":"Malaysia, New York, US, Macau","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (0.7), operator_casino (0.9), investor_analyst (1.0), supplier_vendor (0.7), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Genting Malaysia Recovery","query":"What is the projected timeline for Genting Malaysia Bhd to restore pre-crisis GGR levels, considering potential long-term shifts in consumer behavior and the implementation of new regulatory compliance mandates for social distancing?"},{"label":"Regional IR Performance","query":"How do the operational challenges and financial revisions for Genting Malaysia Bhd compare to other integrated resort operators in the APAC region, and what are the implications for regional gaming vertical performance and M&A activity?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[160,163,16333],"tags":[29,226],"class_list":["post-4593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific","category-finance-news","category-south-east-asia-news","tag-casino","tag-malaysia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4593"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4593\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777018204,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4593\/revisions\/777018204"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}