Kristine Aquino
Bloomberg
Genting Singapore Plc, the world’s third-biggest casino company by market value, posted a fourth- quarter loss as financing costs increased and high rollers won more.
Net loss widened to S$150.3 million ($117.5 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with a loss of S$101.7 million a year earlier, the company said today in a statement to Singapore’s stock exchange. Revenue climbed to S$788.5 million, compared with S$13.4 million in the same period last year.
Profit for the full year was S$37.8 million, compared with a loss of S$277.6 million a year earlier, missing the S$615 million average estimate of 21 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
It attributed its fourth-quarter loss to narrower margins for its VIP business as high-stakes gamblers won more than in the previous three-month period. Full-year profit was reduced by the cost of paying down interest on its S$207.9 million loan to finance its integrated resort in Singapore.
Genting Singapore, the country’s first casino operator, plans to open a marine museum, a water park and two hotels at its $4.7 billion Resorts World Sentosa property starting from the middle of this year.
It staged a reopening yesterday of the Battlestar Galactica roller coaster at its Universal Studios Singapore theme park after shutting it down for almost a year to fix a “ride component failure.” Another ride based on the Transformers movies may open by the end of the year, according to the company.
Genting Singapore has surged almost fivefold in the past two years in Singapore trading, making it Asia’s second-biggest casino company by market value. Profit for the casino operator may reach S$1.12 billion this year, according to the average estimate of 21 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Daily theme-park attendance will more than double this year, the company said. Universal Studios Singapore had more than 2 million visitors in 2010.