Casino operator Genting Malaysia Bhd decreased its loss by 22% in Q3 2020. The loss for the summer months is MYR704.6 million (US$173.2 million), compared to MYR900.4 million in Q2, the group told Bursa Malaysia on Thursday.
The company runs Malaysia’s only casino resort, Resorts World Genting, but it also operates casinos in the Bahamas, Egypt, the UK and the US.
Commentators, however, interpreted the news with concerns given the inconsistency of the information. For instance, banking group Nomura called the results “messy”, pointing to “several one-offs to account for redundancy costs, impairments of assets, and deferred tax asset reversals, all due to Covid-19”.
The key reason for the losses is distortions in business activity. Operations of Genting Malaysia’s main money maker, Resorts World Genting, fist stopped from 18 March until 19 June, as part of the national plan to tackle the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. After that, the resort operated at reduced capacity as a safety precaution. In September, however, Genting Malaysia paid an interim, single-tier dividend of MYR0.06 per ordinary share, amounting to MYR339.2 million, for the 12 months to December 31 this year.
