Genting Singapore to pay out higher dividend despite Q4 earnings dip

FOURTH-quarter earnings slid 17 per cent at casino operator Genting Singapore on the back of a drop in operating profit.

Net profit for the three months ended Dec 31 came in at S$132.8 million, down from S$159.2 million in the same period a year earlier.

Earnings per share fell 17 per cent to 1.1 Singapore cents, from 1.33 Singapore cents, previously.

Still, Genting Singapore has proposed a final dividend of two Singapore cents, up 33.3 per cent on the 1.5 Singapore cents paid out previously.

Revenue during the quarter climbed 4 per cent to S$580.1 million, thanks to a stronger underlying performance from the leisure and hospitality segment, as a result of higher business volume, Genting Singapore told the Singapore Exchange after market closed on Friday.

The daily average visitation for the group's major attraction offerings, Universal Studios Singapore, the SEA Aquarium and Adventure Cove Waterpark, recorded growth between 6 to 9 per cent.

The hotel business maintained a high occupancy rate of 91 per cent.

Operating profit, however, dropped 24 per cent to S$179.1 million.

Net profit for the full year ended Dec 31 more than doubled to S$601 million from S$266.3 million, previously, while revenue grew 7 per cent to S$2.39 billion.

Shares of Genting Singapore closed 0.8 per cent or one Singapore cent higher at S$1.30 on Friday, before the results were released.