Genting Singapore

[felixleong]

SINGAPORE--Casino operator Genting Singapore said Thursday its fourth-quarter earnings slumped 32.2 per cent as a spell of bad luck for the house offset higher volumes in its premium-gambler business, Dow Jones reported.

The company, which runs the Resorts World Sentosa resort in Singapore, said its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization for the October-to-December period were S$250.3 million Singapore dollars, down from S$369.3 million a year earlier.

“Notwithstanding the higher volume registered in the premium gaming business, overall gaming revenue registered a drop, impacted by lower win percentages,” Genting Singapore said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

The fourth-quarter figure also marked a 28 per cent decrease from adjusted Ebitda of S$347.4 million in the preceding three months.

For the three months ended Dec. 31, Genting Singapore posted a net profit of S$170 million compared with S$162.2 million a year earlier. Group revenue for the period fell 12.5 per cent to S$692.9 million, while gambling revenue from the casino--which opened in February 2010--fell 19.2 per cent to S$508.6 million.

“The labor-intensive nature of our business only allows for limited gains from any productivity measures that we undertake,” Genting Singapore said. “We will increase our marketing spending to drive foreign visitation growth, and this will potentially dilute our yield.”

For 2013, Genting Singapore’s board of directors proposed a final dividend of one Singapore cent a share. DOW JONES

[greengiraffe]

Bear in mind Singapore is no Macau so the novelty factor will fade off and with locals already lost a lot to the casinos, forward earnings will only get tougher with the emergence of more laxed operating regimes like Philippines.

SINGAPORE--Casino operator Genting Singapore said Thursday its fourth-quarter earnings slumped 32.2 per cent as a spell of bad luck for the house offset higher volumes in its premium-gambler business, Dow Jones reported.

The company, which runs the Resorts World Sentosa resort in Singapore, said its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization for the October-to-December period were S$250.3 million Singapore dollars, down from S$369.3 million a year earlier.

“Notwithstanding the higher volume registered in the premium gaming business, overall gaming revenue registered a drop, impacted by lower win percentages,” Genting Singapore said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

The fourth-quarter figure also marked a 28 per cent decrease from adjusted Ebitda of S$347.4 million in the preceding three months.

For the three months ended Dec. 31, Genting Singapore posted a net profit of S$170 million compared with S$162.2 million a year earlier. Group revenue for the period fell 12.5 per cent to S$692.9 million, while gambling revenue from the casino--which opened in February 2010--fell 19.2 per cent to S$508.6 million.

“The labor-intensive nature of our business only allows for limited gains from any productivity measures that we undertake,” Genting Singapore said. “We will increase our marketing spending to drive foreign visitation growth, and this will potentially dilute our yield.”

For 2013, Genting Singapore’s board of directors proposed a final dividend of one Singapore cent a share. DOW JONES

[greengiraffe]

When Vegas can be high risks, I don't think S Korean casinos will be long shot especially when Macau remains the magnet for Chinese gambling chips...

James Packer admits losing ‘a bunch of money’ on Las Vegas casinos
SALLY JACKSON THE AUSTRALIAN MARCH 04, 2014 3:59PM

James Packer says he “lost a bunch of money in America because of the financial crisis”. Picture Craig Greenhill Source: News Corp Australia
JAMES Packer came close to losing much of the family fortune in his disastrous 2008 foray into Las Vegas casinos – and the 46-year-old is glad his father, the famously acid-tongued Kerry Packer, wasn’t alive to see it.

In a rare in-depth interview with US magazine Forbes, Mr Packer admits that he “lost a bunch of money in America because of the financial crisis”, an amount that has been estimated as high as $US2.6 billion.

Asked if he was worried the debacle would destroy three generations of Mr Packer wealth creation he replies: “I don’t want to answer that.”

He said the lesson he learned from the experience was not to carry too much debt, with his company’s balance sheet “now much more conservative than it was in 2008”.

Since that salutary experience Mr Packer has gone on to make a major fortune out of gambling, turning a $US600m investment in casinos in China’s Macau region into a business currently worth $US8 billion.

In Australia, Mr Packer’s private company, Consolidated Press Holdings, owns slightly more than 50 per cent of Crown Resorts, which is now capitalised at $US11 billion and owns casinos in Melbourne, Perth and London with approvals for more in Sydney and Colombo, Sri Lanka.

“I’ve now got more of my money in China than anywhere else, more probably than in Australia,” Mr Packer tells Forbes.

Having inherited a $5bn fortune when Kerry Packer died in 2005, the magazine puts Mr Packer’s wealth now at $6.5 billion, making him Australia’s second-richest person after Gina Rinehart.

“At 46, Mr Packer is finally emerging from his father’s long shadow to come into his own,” the magazine says.

But asked if he wished his father was still around to see his current successes, Mr Packer counters: “But then he would have also seen me in 2008.”

Mr Packer says his interest in casinos was sparked by Kerry, a gambling “whale” renowned for betting millions at blackjack, poker and baccarat tables around the world.

“Some of the happiest times I ever saw my dad was times when I was with him in the casinos and he had a good night,” he says.

He also opens up about other personal issues in the interview, which describes him “giving daughter Indigo, 5, a big snuggle before she trots off with her nanny to bed”.

“I had a marriage breakdown last year,” he says, referring to his September separation from wife Erica Packer.

“Business is good right now, but now my personal life is a disaster.”

The article refers to Australian model Miranda Kerr as Packer’s “supermodel girlfriend”, although the two have not publicly confirmed their relationship.

[greengiraffe]

With rising competition amongst regional countries, Casino operators is no longer as defensive as it seems though its really a high cashflow business that requires high recurrent capex to sustain punters' ever changing gaming preferences

Casino operators eye Japan and S. Korea

Potential gaming liberalisation there looks attractive as gaming growth here slows

Published on Mar 29, 2014


A tourist entering a casino at a hotel in Jeju, South Korea. The island is a popular destination not only for mainland Chinese, but also for Japanese and Koreans. Genting announced last month that it will develop a casino resort there along with a Chinese property company. -- PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

By Grace Leong

THE race is on among casino operators Las Vegas Sands (LVS), Genting Singapore and, more recently, a consortium including OUE to position themselves for potential gaming liberalisation in South Korea and Japan.

Attracting wealthy mainland Chinese gamblers and their tourist dollars is part of the endgame, as Singapore's gaming growth slows in the face of tighter regulations and more integrated resorts opening in the region, analysts say.

"Both Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa have seen a weakening local market. Increased visitations to MBS did not benefit its casino either; casino visitations are down by double-digits. Visitation to Universal Studios is not growing as locals find it relatively expensive," Mr Praveen Choudhary of Morgan Stanley Asia said yesterday.

It is difficult to develop the premium mass market as Singapore is much further away than Macau for mainland Chinese visitors, he said.

Attracting hotel guests to the gaming tables has also proven to be more difficult than expected, Mr Choudhary said. Typically, the more hotel rooms a casino has, the better its ability to attract premium mass customers by offering them free hotel rooms as "comps".

To that end, LVS chief executive Sheldon Adelson recently asked the Government for more land to build more hotel rooms. Its Marina Bay Sands hotel here has 2,561 rooms.

Genting will open a 550-room hotel in Jurong next year.

But despite subdued local growth, analysts see Genting's valuation as attractive in view of exciting gaming opportunities in Japan and South Korea. Genting's stock has fallen about 11 per cent over the past year, closing yesterday's session at $1.33 a share.

Last month, it said it will develop a US$2.2 billion (S$2.8 billion) casino resort on South Korea's Jeju Island with Chinese property company Landing International Development. But Genting has yet to receive a licence to operate the foreigner-only casino.

"Jeju Island is a popular destination not only for mainland Chinese, but also for Japanese and Koreans. We think building a Resorts World brand in South Korea could bode well for Genting as it looks to establish its credibility for a licence in Japan. If the brand is successful in attracting Korean and Japanese patrons, it may put Genting in a stronger position to secure a Japanese partner and gain support for a licence in Japan," Mr Gary Pinge of Macquarie Equities said.

Deutsche Bank considers Japan as the more promising opportunity for Genting, which it sees as a "strong contender" for one of the few licences there, once the gaming ban is lifted.

Coming on the heels of Genting is a consortium consisting of OUE, Lippo Group and Caesars Entertainment, which got preliminary approval this month to build an integrated resort in Incheon, west of Seoul.

South Korea plans to draw 10 million Chinese visitors a year by 2020, according to data from the Korea Tourism Organisation. Chinese visitors made up 36 per cent of foreign visitors to South Korea last year, and accounted for 41 per cent of visits to its casinos in 2012, latest official data shows.

OUE shares gained nearly 7 per cent, or 15 cents, from the previous session to close at $2.36 on March 18 when the project was announced.

Genting's Jeju venture has "much higher potential than Incheon, given the close proximity to China, visa- free entry and the ease of getting residency (by mainland Chinese) by spending US$500,000", said a Morgan Stanley report.

Separately, LVS shares on the New York exchange did well in the past year. They gained more than US$20, or 37 per cent, to close at US$77.29 on Thursday, as the gaming giant's fortunes soared with rapid growth in the Macau market. But then Macau's gaming revenue growth for January missed consensus estimates, hit by a slowing Chinese economy and an extended slowdown in the VIP business, analysts say.

The same weaker trend was also reflected in MBS' fourth quarter pre-tax profit, which shrank 14 per cent to US$258.8 million year on year.

"Our focus is to grow the foreign mass premium. Our goal is to get over $5 million a day," Mr Robert Goldstein, LVS president of global gaming operations, told investors recently. "The mass market (in Singapore) is more diversified and largely from South-east Asia. We wish we have more mainland Chinese because that is still the best customer for that segment."

Meanwhile, LVS will consider investing at least US$6 billion in integrated resort development in Japan, and may consider importing elements of the IR model, including social gambling protections, if it gets approval to expand there.

gleong@sph.com.sg

Background story

SLOWING BUSINESS FOR SINGAPORE IRs

Both Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa have seen a weakening local market. Increased visitations to MBS did not benefit its casino either; casino visitations are down by double-digits. Visitation to Universal Studios is not growing as locals find it relatively expensive.

- Mr Praveen Choudhary of Morgan Stanley Asia

[investor101]

New hotel coming up in Jurong in 2015. Possible IR projects in South Korea and Japan. If all these takes off, it may help GenS increases its earnings by a lot.

Not vested yet.

[pianist]

The Battlestar Galactica, a star attraction at the Universal Studios Singapore theme park, is closed for good.

The sci-fi themed rollercoaster, which has been closed since July 2013, will be replaced by a new ride by the end of this year.

MyPaper reported that Resorts World Sentosa, which manages the theme park, said that the Battlestar is "unavailable as it undergoes an attraction review".

It was also reported that the new ride will follow a movie theme, and is expected to have new interiors and a fresh coat of paint, among other changes.

Touted as the world’s tallest dueling roller coaster, the “Battlestar Galactica” ride has been plagued by problems since the theme park opened in March 2010. The roller coaster was closed for over nine months, a week after it opened, due to technical problems. It re-opened in February 2011, but was soon shut down again after cracks were found in the seat-post supports of the coaster cars.

[greengiraffe]

Packer plans $5bn casino in Japan
RICK WALLACE AND DAMON KITNEY THE AUSTRALIAN APRIL 07, 2014 12:00AM

JAMES Packer’s Melco Crown Asian gaming joint venture is in talks with several Japanese corporations — including some with operations in Australia — about joining forces to build a $US5 billion ($5.4bn) casino complex in Japan in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Todd Nisbet, the Crown executive leading the Japan casino bid, said the company was eyeing a project even more elaborate than Melco Crown’s flagship City of Dreams mega-resort in Macau.

In an interview with The Australian, Mr Nisbet also revealed Crown was in active talks with the Vietnamese and South Korean governments about their plans for new casino resort developments, and said he expected negotiations over Crown’s casino project in Sri Lanka would be completed before the end of the year.

But Japan’s potential as a $40bn-a-year gaming market means it remains Melco Crown’s highest priority internationally.

“Japan is the biggest single opportunity that we are looking at in terms of an international expansion and growth story, just because of the sophistication of the market, the appeal of the overall area,’’ Mr Nisbet said. Crown boss James Packer will visit Tokyo this week as part of a business delegation accompanying Prime Minister Tony Abbott on his North Asia visit, and will speak about the company’s plans for Tokyo at a business function.

Mr Nisbet downplayed the prospect of rising tensions between China and Japan affecting the bid, saying that Melco Crown’s well-regarded Hong Kong-based chief executive Lawrence Ho — Mr Packer’s partner in the business — would be an asset to the bid.

Casino giants Wynns, Las Vegas Sands and others are vying for the right to build and operate casinos in Japan, which is preparing to allow integrated casino resorts in Tokyo and possibly Osaka and regional cities to meet its tourism targets and reinvigorate its economy.

Japan, a nation of 120 million people strategically located in north Asia, has long been regarded as the casino world’s El Dorado.

But thanks to looming law changes the promise is poised to become a reality.

“Everybody has reached for another gear, whether it be the political bodies … or prospective international companies that are interested in coming into Japan,’’ Mr Nisbet said.

“There’s been this moment in time where the Olympics has crystallised thinking around what’s the best way to capitalise on Japan being on the world stage and really driving the next stage of growth that the Abe government is looking to do to reinvigorate the Japanese ­eco­nomy.”

Melco Crown plans to use its record in revitalising the Southbank precinct of Melbourne and its successes in Macau — as well as its $22bn market capitalisation, and record on probity and problem gambling — to persuade the Japanese government to choose its bid from a heavyweight field of gaming ­giants.

“The one thing I think does make us stand out from the crowd is we have an incredibly successful business both in Australia and abroad,’’ Mr Nisbet said.

“We are financially sound. We haven’t done things that are crazy or leveraged up our balance sheet to the point where we can’t afford to invest a significant sum of money in Japan. It is well within our means.

“One of those things governments need to look at when they look at who they do business with is: are they going to be around through tough times and good times?

“And I think the one thing that Crown has done through Melco Crown, or on our own, through good times and bad we have reinvested in our properties.”

Mr Nisbet also flagged a high-end production — along the lines of Melco Crown’s $250m House of Dancing Water show in Macau — would be a part of its Japan bid.

“We don’t want to just build something that the guy built in Vegas and bring it to Japan. We want to come up with something that’s unique, speaks to the culture, has an entertainment aspect to it,’’ he said.

Mr Nisbet said Melco Crown was in talks with several Japanese corporations — including some leading multinational firms with operations in Australia — about joining forces on the bid.

“We think a local partner is a key ingredient. There have been meetings with various companies in Japan. It’s fair to say nothing has solidified yet,’’ he said.

[greengiraffe]

Looks like Genting Singapore is no longer a cash generator but a hungry capital raising machine should it decide to build a chain of overseas IRs...

http://www.todayonline.com/business/melc...pan-casino

Melco Crown’s Packer sees minimum S$6.2 bln investment for Japan casino
PUBLISHED: APRIL 9, 10:01 PM
TOKYO – Australian gambling tycoon and Melco Crown Entertainment co-chairman James Packer said it would cost a minimum of US$5 billion (S$6.2 billion) to develop a casino and resort complex in Japan should the government legalise casino gambling.

One of Australia’s richest men, MR Packer is visiting Japan as the country’s parliament is preparing to debate legalising casino gambling, a move that could create a prize market with a wealthy population and proximity to China.

“I think realistically that (US$5 billion) would be the lowest possible number. I think the numbers will only go up from there, not down,” Mr Packer told reporters.

“I do not envisage that an integrated resort in either Tokyo or Osaka would be successful at anything under US$5 billion, and the cost for the successful applicant would probably be more than US$5 billion,” said Mr Packer, who also controls Australian casino group Crown Resorts.

Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands is the most expensive casino in Asia with a build cost of US$5.9 billion in 2010.

Proponents of Japanese casino liberalisation expect debate on the bill to start next month, and aim to pass it before the parliament session ends in June. They say casinos could be in operation by the time Tokyo stages the 2020 summer Olympic Games, helping to boost tourist spending.

Casino operators hope Japan will be the next big opportunity in Asia after the spectacular growth of Macau, the southern Chinese territory which has become the world’s gambling capital since its gaming market was liberalised in 2001.

Melco is one of several casino operators including Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts which have expressed interests in investing in Japanese gaming.

Mr Packer said Tokyo and Osaka were the “two most exciting” possible locations for his proposed casino, although he declined to identify which of Japan’s two mega-cities he preferred.

He also said Melco Crown would enter the Japanese market with local partners, without elaborating on who they might be.

“If we’re lucky enough to be able to be successful in securing a licence, our expectation would be to have a strong set of Japanese partners,” he said. REUTERS

[pianist]

A dolphin from Resorts World Sentosa died on Sunday, according to a statement on the Marine Life Park blog posted a day after.

“We are conducting tests to confirm the exact cause of death. Prior medical tests indicated that she was healthy. We are closely monitoring all our animals, and as always, no effort or resources will be spared in ensuring the health and well-being of our dolphins at Dolphin Island,” it said.

MLP added that they are “deeply saddened” by the lost.

No further details were given on the bottlenose dolphin, which was one of the 24 dolphins available at RWS.

The dolphins are available for public viewing at Singapore’s S.E.A Aquarium and Adventure Cove Waterpark.

MLP will provide further details on the blog when available.

The news has sparked calls for other dolphins to be released.

A Facebook post by Singapore’s Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) said, “When is enough enough? Four have already died. Help speak up for the remaining 23 wild-caught dolphins. Urge Resorts World to work with ACRES toward rehabilitating and releasing them back into the vast open oceans.”

In 2012, a 10-year-old dolphin Wen Wen died on its way to Singapore. A year earlier, two dolphins captured from the waters of Solomon Islands for RWS also died.

An ongoing petition to free the bottlenose dolphins at RWS has garnered over 100,000 signatures.

Bottlenose dolphins are well-known as “intelligent” and “charismatic”, according to National Geographic. They can swim as fast as 30 km per hour and their average life span during captivity ranges between 45 to 50 years.

[greengiraffe]

Chance for Genting going down under?

Echo Entertainment in the hunt for Brisbane casino partner
GREG BROWN AND ROSANNE BARRETT THE AUSTRALIAN MAY 29, 2014 12:00AM

LOCAL casino giant Echo Entertainment is vying to put itself in pole position for the casino ­licence at the multi-billion-dollar Queen’s Wharf project in the Brisbane CBD, with the group in joint-venture discussions with the two Asian bidding parties left standing.

Echo is negotiating with Chinese titan Greenland and the Hong Kong-based joint bidders Far East Consortium and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises. Echo is sounding the two bidders out on joining forces in the final proposal of the tender process, which would likely include a casino, six-star hotels, shops, restaurants, ­entertainment precincts and a convention centre.

Echo Entertainment already holds three Queensland casino ­licences and runs Sydney’s The Star. James Packer’s Crown ­Resorts, which is building a casino in Sydney’s Barangaroo, is the other group that is still in the ­running for the Queen’s Wharf project. All parties declined to comment.

Sources close to the negotiations said Echo wanted to team up with one of the Asian bidders, as the Newman government had appeared keen to turn the precinct into a resort that would capture the growing Asian tourism market.

Greenland, Far East Consortium and Chow Tai Fook are well known in parts of Asia and are likely to highlight their ability to attract tourists. They also have more development experience and firepower than Echo.

Greenland is a Fortune Global 500 company. Last year, it ­recorded global revenue of about $55 billion.

Far East Consortium runs ­hotels globally, including New York’s Trump Place. It has developed a host of Australian apartment towers since 1994.

Chow Tai Fook is one of the largest jewellery companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with a market cap of about $US14bn ($15.14bn). It also owns half of an Asian development business, New World Development, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with a market cap of about $US10bn.

The family behind Chow Tai Fook, the Cheng family, has interests in a company that has a stake in several casinos in Macau.

New Zealand-based SkyCity Entertainment Group and Lend Lease were knocked out of the Queen’s Wharf race yesterday. The shortlisted companies will lodge fully developed proposals late this year, with a successful bid to be announced early next year.