Casino operator Genting Singapore Ltd posted annual net profit of nearly SGD611.6 million (US$456.0 million) for full-year 2023, up 79.8 percent from the prior year. That was on revenue that rose 40.1 percent year-on-year, to just below SGD2.42 billion, according to unaudited results published on Thursday by the firm.

As business volumes picked up during the year, the group’s cost of sales increased by 36.6 percent year-on-year, to SGD1.53 billion.

Genting Singapore is the operator of Resorts World Sentosa (pictured in a file photo), one of Singapore’s two casino resorts. The firm is a subsidiary of Malaysian conglomerate Genting Bhd.

Genting Singapore proposed a one-tier, tax-exempt final dividend of SGD0.02 per ordinary share, amounting to SGD241.4 million. Taking into account the interim dividend of SGD181.1 million, the company paid a total of SGD422.5 million in dividends to shareholders for 2023

Genting Singapore recorded full-year adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of SGD1.03 billion, a 32.5-percent increase from the previous year.

The company reported gaming revenue of nearly SGD1.65 billion in the 12-month period, up 34.1 percent from the prior year.

Genting Singapore said in commentary accompanying the results that its business recovery was “gathering momentum” post- Covid-19, although it saw “some potential headwinds”.

Resorts World Sentosa delivered adjusted EBITDA of SGD1.06 billion for full-year 2023, compared to SGD803.0 million in the prior year. The figure represented “around 86 percent of pre-Covid adjusted EBITDA,” stated the firm.

“Although the robust performance in 2023 indicates a promising recovery for Resorts World Sentosa, the near-term prospects may be unpredictable due to many macroeconomic and geo-political factors beyond our control,” observed Genting Singapore.

The firm also mentioned that as of December 31, the group’s trade receivables measured on a gross basis amounted to SGD396.2 million, up from SGD160.5 million in 2022. The majority of such trade receivables were “related to casino debtors,” it added.

Second-half improvement

Thursday’s earnings filing showed an improvement in business volumes in the second half of 2022. Group-wide revenue in the six months to December 31 was SGD1.34 billion, compared to SGD1.08 billion in the first six months; second-half gaming revenue rose 20.6 percent from the first half, to SGD900.6 million.

Genting Singapore’s adjusted EBITDA in the second half of 2023 stood at SGD573.2 million, compared to SGD452.5 million in the first six months of the year.

In November, Genting Singapore said its board had approved a total investment of about SDG6.80 billion to upgrade and expand Resorts World Sentosa.

The figure includes “amounts which have been spent and the remainder to be invested over the next eight years,” stated the company at the time. That was a reference to a previous SGD4.5-billion pledge to the city-state’s authorities for the expansion of the complex, known as “RWS 2.0”.

The ongoing developments taking place at Resorts World Sentosa as part of its expansion – including the Universal Studios Singapore’s Minion Land and the Singapore Oceanarium – “are progressing well and on track to a soft opening in early 2025,” stated the company.

Hard Rock’s hotel brand is being dropped from the complex on March 2, as the hotel “will undergo a complete makeover” as part of Resorts World Sentosa’s expansion.

“The tenders have been issued for the new waterfront development, featuring 700 hotel keys and immersive lifestyle offerings, with tender returns expected in the second quarter of this year,” it added.

“Renovation and upgrading works in the entire resort will be refurbished in phases that will include all our existing hotels and food and beverage outlets, attractions and the casino,” the firm stated.

In a separate announcement on Thursday, Genting Singapore said Andrew MacDonald has been appointed as director of Resorts World at Sentosa Pte Ltd, the subsidiary that runs the casino complex. Mr MacDonald has been since September 2022 the chief casino officer of the operating entity.

“The Nominating Committee and the board have assessed and are satisfied that Mr Andrew MacDonald has the qualifications and experience to be appointed as the director of Resorts World Sentosa, the indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the company,” stated Genting Singapore in a Thursday filing, adding that the appointment was “executive in nature”.