GGRAsia – Genting HK expects 1H loss of at least US$600mln

Genting HK expects 1H loss of at least US$600mln

Aug 10, 2020 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck

Genting Hong Kong Ltd says it expects to record an unaudited consolidated net loss of “not less than US$600 million” for the six months ended June 30. The company said the lacklustre result was because of suspension of most its operations within the latest reporting period due to Covid-19.

The Hong Kong-listed operator of casino cruise ships and shipyards, as well as an investor in the Resorts World Manila casino resort in the Philippines, warned in a Friday filing that it forecast an operating loss for the first half of 2020 of “not less than US$300 million”.

The firm stated it planned to release its interim results announcement before then end of the month.

Genting Hong Kong had previously stated in a filing on August 3 that its first-half loss would be “significantly higher” compared to a year earlier, because of suspension of most its operations in the six months to June 30 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The group posted an unaudited consolidated net loss of US$56.5 million for the first half of for 2019.

The anticipated net loss increase for the first half of 2020 was “due to the suspension of operations across the group’s cruise businesses” (namely Dream Cruises, Crystal Cruises and Star Cruises), suspension of shipbuilding operations at MV Werften’s shipyards in Germany, and “severely restricted operations and revenue generation” at Genting Hong Kong’s entertainment and leisure businesses, namely the Resorts World Manila casino resort and Zouk nightclub in Singapore.

On July 26, outside the first-half reporting period, the group said its Dream Cruises brand was ready to restart its cruise services for the Taiwan market.

On August 3, the Philippine government said Metro Manila was reverting to a tighter protocol regarding Covid-19 countermeasures, known as “modified enhanced community quarantine”, due to an uptick in Covid-19 cases in that country’s capital.

Casino complexes in the Metro Manila area, including Resorts World Manila as well as the other large-scale private-sector venues City of Dreams Manila, Okada Manila, and Solaire Resort and Casino, have been closed since mid-March due to the pandemic.