Genting Singapore shares up 6.4% despite H1 profit drop

[SINGAPORE] Shares of Genting Singapore closed up 6.4 per cent at S$0.665 on Friday (Aug 14), despite the profit decline of 33.5 per cent for the first half of the year that was reported on Thursday.

The resort and casino operator’s H1 profit clocked in at S$156.1 million, down from S$234.7 million a year earlier. This was largely due to higher depreciation, lower interest income and asset refresh works, the group said.

Still, revenue fell only 0.9 per cent to S$1.2 billion due to support from non-gaming revenue growth. The segment brought in revenue of S$388.6 million, up about 6 per cent year on year.