US$800-plus million Genting SkyWorlds to soft open on Feb 8

 

Genting SkyWorlds Theme Park

KUALA LUMPUR: Genting Malaysia Bhd's highly-anticipated US$800-plus million outdoor theme park will have its soft opening on Feb 8.

The group, in a statement today, said ticket sales of the Genting SkyWorlds would go live via the theme park's website and mobile app on Feb 4.

"We are now ready to reveal our theme park to the world," Genting Malaysia head of business operation and strategies Lee Thiam Kit said.

"Built with an investment of over US$800 million, this game-changing new themed attraction will put Malaysia and Pahang on the world tourism map," he added.

Genting SkyWorlds was expected to attract three million patrons and RM200 average spend per patron, according to Maybank Investment Bank Bhd.

This will see Genting SkyWorlds ranked as the second most visited theme park in Asean.

At RM200 per patron, Maybank IB said this would be 20 per cent lower than Universal Studios Singapore's (USS) at S$80 (about RM250).

"On Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation) margin, we assume 30 per cent or 10 percentage points higher than USS as Genting SkyWorlds will not pay 20th Century Fox gate royalties but a fixed annual licence fee.

"These result in a decent RM180 million Ebitda per annum but are not enough to offset RM330 million depreciation per annum," the bank said in a report today.

All in all, Maybank IB said it rated Genting SkyWorlds highly.

"Even though we expect Genting SkyWorlds to be loss-generating due to heavy depreciation, we are confident that it will draw the crowds (whether gaming or non-gaming) and be net positive for Genting Malaysia," said the bank, which maintained its "Buy" call and RM3.38 target price on the company.

Elaborating on the theme park, Resort World Genting vice president and head of theme park operation Greg Pearn said Genting SkyWorlds would be offering a 20 per cent discount on ticket prices while some attractions undergo the final commissioning process and remain unavailable to guests.

"Opening a theme park during the pandemic has been a challenge, and while every effort has been made to ensure our full offerings are available, a small selection of attractions require a little more time to be completed, something the team is working hard to achieve," he said.

Built across 10.52 hectares at an elevation of 6,000 feet above sea level, Genting SkyWorlds will take guests on a sky-high adventure through nine movie and adventure inspired "worlds", incorporating original intellectual properties as well as movie-themed fun and excitement across its world-class rides and attractions.

-nst online