Revenue declines at its Singapore and UK casinos contributed to a 43% drop in first-quarter profit for Genting Bhd.
The Kuala Lumpur-based conglomerate, parent company of gaming and resort hotel operators Genting Singapore and Genting Malaysia, said net income for the three months ended 31st March fell to 397.8 million ringgit (US$128.5 million) from 693.6 million ringgit in the same period a year ago on a 2.2% decline in revenue to 4.13 billion ringgit (US$1.38 billion).
The company’s listed Genting Singapore subsidiary earlier reported a 44% drop in first-quarter profit to S$115.9 million (US$91.9 million).
Meanwhile, Resorts World New York City generated a profit of US$26 million in the first quarter, and the company continues to expand aggressively in the gaming space, opening a US$24 million casino hotel in Bimini in the Bahamas in the fall and recently buying land on the Las Vegas Strip for a 3,500-room resort casino.
On the non-gaming side, profit from the company’s extensive agricultural holdings dropped on lower palm oil prices from 98.5 million ringgit to 45.1 million, while earnings from the power division more than doubled from 33.3 million to 79.9 million ringgit.
