More Traffic at RWS

More visitors are coming to Resorts World Sentosa. Patronage jumped almost 20 percent in third-quarter 2015, according to analysts. The good news is tempered by a drop of about 10 percent in average daily spend.

Genting Singapore shares down 29 percent

Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore has seen a marked rise in visitation, with arrivals up almost 20 percent in the third quarter of 2015, according to investment analysts cited by GGRAsia. However, average daily spending by those visitors dropped in the same period, added the note from Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

The casino resort is operated by Genting Singapore Plc. “One bright spot for Genting is the non-gaming segment, which saw a record quarter of visitor arrivals of about 21,000 per day in the third quarter 2015 (versus 18,000 to 19,000 daily) in the third quarter 2014,” wrote Daiwa’s Ramakrishna Maruvada and Shane Goh. “However, average daily spending has fallen by 6 percent to 10 percent year-on-year, likely as a result of softer regional currencies.”

The analysts, who conferred with Genting management before publishing the note, added that “the broader mass market customer base in Singapore is nearing saturation,” and the property will focus on “overseas markets, such as Thailand, to grow its pool of customers.” Thailand has no licensed casinos.

Genting Singapore’s share price had plummeted by 29 percent by the end of the year; the firm posted a 62 percent year-on-year decline in third-quarter net profit to SGD37.2 million (US$26.3 million). The decrease was attributed to a decline in gaming revenues “and an increase in bad debt write-offs,” reported GGRAsia, citing a filing to the Singapore Exchange.

Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd said in a note following Genting Singapore’s third quarter numbers that it estimated Resorts World Sentosa had a 36 percent share of the Singapore casino market’s VIP gambling rolling chip volume during the period, and an approximate 40 percent share of mass market gross gaming revenue.

**GGBNews.com is part of the Clarion Events Group of companies (Clarion). We take your privacy seriously. By registering for this newsletter we wish to use your information on the basis of our legitimate interests to keep in contact with you about other relevant events, products and services which may be of interest to you. We will only ever use the information we collect or receive about you in accordance with our Privacy Policy. You may manage your preferences or unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails.