Genting venture bears fruit, plans to expand further

GENTING Malaysia Bhd's foray into casino resorts overseas via its maiden venture into the United States late last year is finally bearing fruit amid uncertainties in the Western economies.

The gaming company had expanded into the United States with its video lottery facility at the Aqueduct Racetrack in New York in September 2010. Media reports indicated the appetite for gambling had not abated but instead increased despite the economic woes, and the opening of the Aqueduct Racetrack, also known as the Resorts World New York (RWNY), had attracted more patrons than expected.

Genting has said plans are in the pipeline to double the space with additional floors of gaming facilities, events and new upscale dining offerings by the end of this year. Indeed, what is to be noted is that Genting's latest financial results for the period ended Sept 30 did not include the performance of its US operations as RWNY was only opened at the end of last month.

Genting's net profit for its third-quarter ended Sept 30 rose 3% to RM347.15mil from RM336.42mil a year earlier on the back of a 93% increase in revenue to RM2.32bil. The company pointed out that its revenue would have only increased 45% if not for the construction cost of the RWNY which amounted to RM566.9mil.

The company was cautious about its prospects moving forward due to slower global growth brought on by weakening macroeconomic fundamentals. However, shareholders could expect an upside surprise on the group's results should the RWNY churn out profit sooner than expected like its United Kingdom operations which recorded an operating profit of RM30mil in the third quarter compared with loss in its previous financial quarter.

In the United Kingdom, Genting, which had purchased casino holdings from sister company Genting Singapore plc, is continuing its expansion spree with the acquisition of Fox Poker Club Ltd for RM38.35mil. However, most brokerages, including ECM Libra, have not factored in these potential earnings contribution from RWNY and Fox Poker Club into their estimates as they are awaiting further earnings guidance from the Genting management.

Maybank Kim Eng analyst Yin Shao Yang said in a report last week the acquisition of Fox Poker Club was not expected to contribute to Genting's earnings. Yin had maintained a hold call on the stock with a target price of RM3.88.

The market did not expect the Fox Poker Club acquisition would contribute much to its bottom line due to the small size of the acquisition but was looking forward to another corporate event which could spark a re-rating for the stock. The company is still awaiting approval for its Las Vegas-style resort in Miami.

Earnings from the expansion into Miami, if approved by the US government, would still take time to materialise.

The experience from developing RWNY has shown it took slightly more than a year for it to be operational and earnings could take a longer time to come.

For all the talk about its overseas ventures, it is still noteworthy that the company derives about 90% of its earnings from Malaysia. The company has noted that its Malaysian operations had thrived despite regional competition. Time will tell whether Genting's expansion of its income base into the West, where economic growth is expected to remain subdued, would begin to see the expected returns.

Shareholders would definitely be delighted as this diversifying of income and revenue streams would help strengthen and solidify the company's branding, not only locally but also in the West where Genting is beginning to turn economic crises into opportunities.

-thestar online.

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