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| Genting Singapore |
Resorts World at Sentosa made S$538 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the three months ended March, up from the S$390 million reported for the preceding quarter.
Its EBITDA was one-and-a-half times the $284.5 million, or around S$351.6 million, reported by Marina Bay Sands for the same period. Marina Bay Sands is owned by U.S. casino giant Las Vegas Sands .
Resorts World's net revenue for the quarter was S$913.5 million, up from S$775.2 million in the last three months of 2010 as it gained market share in Singapore's booming casino market.
"We continue to see strong VIP play, brought about by strong overseas visitations," said a spokeswoman for Genting Singapore, which is part of Malaysia's Genting Group .
VIP rolling revenue accounted for 62 percent of total gross gaming revenue during the quarter, Genting said.
Singapore legalised casino gaming and allowed the building of two massive casino-resorts in 2005 as part of a plan to boost tourism. Genting's $4.8 billion Resorts World at Sentosa opened its doors in February last year, while the $5.5 billion Marina Bay Sands started two months later.
The Singapore casinos are the world's second and third most expensive casino complexes after MGM's CityCentre in Las Vegas, and their profits and profit margins are among the highest globally.
Las Vegas Sands disappointed investors on May 3 when it announced lower-than-expected quarterly profit at its Singapore casino-resort, sending the company's shares down 10 percent. [ID:nN03300282]
The Las Vegas casino operator attributed the poor results at its Singapore casino primarily to bad luck, and said the Singapore casino would have made an EBITDA of $311 million instead of $284.5 million if gamblers had not been so lucky.
Q1 results for Singapore's two casino-resorts
Resorts World Sentosa* Marina Bay Sands Market share 55.8 pct 44.2 pct Net revenue S$913.5 mln($739.0 mln) $584.9 mln EBITDA S$538 mln ($435.1 mln) $284.5 mln EDITDA margin 59 pct 49 pct * Resorts World's net revenue and EBITDA converted to U.S. dollars for easy comparison with Marina Bay Sands.
Resorts World had a 51.9 percent market share by revenue in the fourth quarter of 2010 compared with 48.1 percent for Marina Bay Sands. ($1 = 1.236 Singapore Dollars)
