Genting Bhd, which controls Asia's second-biggest gaming company by market value, said fourth- quarter profit jumped 66 per cent, with maiden revenue contributions from its New York City casino.
Net income surged to RM772.9 million, or 20.94 sen a share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, from RM465.4 million , or 12.57 sen per share, a year earlier, the company said in a filing to the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange yesterday.
Revenue climbed 24 per cent to RM5.06 billion on increased takings at its core Singapore, Malaysia and UK casinos and gaming resorts.
"The growth in the global gaming industry in 2011 was driven by key Asian markets," the group said in its statement.
"The economic challenges in Europe and the U.S. continue to cloud the short-term outlook of the Asian economies. Uncertain economic climate also presents some potentially attractive investment opportunities" for Genting Singapore Plc, it said.
The Kuala Lumpur-based group is extending its overseas reach from its roots as owner of Malaysia's only casino resort. It opened a casino at the Aqueduct Racetrack in New York City last quarter, where it also plans to build the country's biggest convention center.
Its Genting Malaysia Bhd. unit has also pitched proposals for a US$3.8 billion casino-and-hotel project in Miami. It's already the UK's biggest casino operator and owns Resorts World Sentosa, one of Singapore's two gaming resorts.
Genting rose 0.6 per cent to RM10.60 at 11:15 a.m. in Kuala Lumpur trading, tracking a similar gain in the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index.
The stock has fallen 3.8 per cent this year and trades at about 13 times estimated earnings, compared with the 21-times average for 16 gambling operations companies worldwide tracked by Bloomberg.
"Genting is the cheapest gaming stock in the world with resilient base earnings from gaming, plantation and power segments," Yee Mei Hui, analyst at HwangDBS Vickers Research Sdn Bhd wrote in a note to clients today.
She kept a "buy" rating on the stock with RM13.70 price target. - Bloomberg
No comments:
Post a Comment