Operator News
Malaysia – Lack of international flights slowing Genting Malaysia’s recovery
By Phil - 12 June 2023
A slower than expected return of international customers has seen Maybank Investment Bank slash its earnings estimates for Genting Malaysia by 27 per cent.
Visitation at Resorts World Genting (RWG) has seen domestic players and Singaporean visitors reach 2019 levels but the return of players from critical markets such as Indonesia, Hong Kong and China have lagged.
Analyst Samuel Yin Shao Yang explained that low flight capacity was to blame with international visitation not expected to return until the end of next year. As well as lowering estimated earnings for this year, Yin has also lowered next year by eight per cent. His estimates put 2023 revenue on course for US$2.11bn. By 2024 he believes revenue could hit US$2.39bn.
Yin said: “Malaysian carriers carried two-thirds of international passengers pre-COVID . Thus, we examine their fleet strategies. The number of aircraft operated by Malaysian carriers will reach FY19A levels by end-FY23E – implying RWG visitor arrivals should hit FY19 levels in FY24 – and exceed FY19 levels by end-FY24.”
Resorts World Genting has also been hit the effects of the landslide in Batang Kali in December, which saw visitation drop to 4.7m in the first quarter. The second quarter saw this rise to 5.2m, still 15 per cent short of 2019 levels.
