Investment bank Maybank has reduced its earnings forecasts for Malaysian gaming conglomerate Genting Malaysia Berhad by 4 to 14 percent after the company’s second quarter 2025 results fell short of expectations, marking the first time the group failed to declare an interim dividend.
Maybank analyst Samuel Yin Shao Yang maintained a ‘buy’ rating for Genting but lowered the target price, citing underperformance at key subsidiaries Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) in Singapore and Resorts World Las Vegas (RWLV). The analyst described the 2Q25 results as ‘a smaller miss this time’ compared with the first quarter shortfall.
Genting’s second quarter core net profit of MYR322.5 million ($68 million) brought the six-month total to MYR448.5 million ($95 million), representing just 47 percent of Maybank’s full-year estimate. The company’s six-month EBITDA of MYR4 billion ($841 million) also missed projections at 45 percent of the annual forecast.
The earnings shortfall was primarily attributed to construction disruptions at RWS related to the property’s major transformation project, known as RWS 2.0, which affected mass-market gaming revenue and non-gaming income. Additionally, RWLV’s six-month EBITDA of $28 million fell significantly short of expectations, representing only 20 percent of Maybank’s full-year estimate.
Outlook for RWS and RWLV diverges
‘RWS ought to recover but not so sure about RWLV,’ Yin said in the research note, expressing concern about the Las Vegas property’s recovery pace despite expectations for improvement after paying a $10.5 million fine to Nevada gaming regulators in March 2025.
Revenue trends and currency headwinds
Genting reported group revenue of MYR6.8 billion ($1.43 billion) for the second quarter, representing a marginal 1 percent decline from the same period last year. The company’s adjusted EBITDA fell to MYR2.1 billion ($441 million) in 2Q25 from MYR2.2 billion ($463 million) in 2Q24, with currency headwinds from a strengthening ringgit against major currencies contributing to the decline.
Net profit more than doubled quarter-on-quarter, rising from MYR277.6 million ($58 million) in 1Q25 to MYR680.8 million ($143 million) in 2Q25, though this improvement was insufficient to offset the first quarter weakness.
Broad weakness carrying into 2Q25
For the first half of 2025, group revenue declined 7 percent to MYR13.3 billion ($2.8 billion) while EBITDA dropped 15 percent to MYR4.1 billion ($862 million) compared with the same period in 2024. The weaker performance was primarily driven by the leisure and hospitality division, which encompasses the company’s casino and resort operations.
RWS experienced a challenging period with mass-market gaming revenue falling 11 percent year-on-year to approximately SG$F365 million ($270 million) in the second quarter due to ongoing construction works. However, the property saw some positive developments with increased visitation to Universal Studios Singapore following the launch of Minion Land in February 2025.
RWLV continued to face headwinds with hotel occupancy declining to 80.2 percent in 2Q25 from 89.4 percent in the prior-year period, while average daily rates increased to $265 from $257. Gaming industry sources cited higher prices, immigration enforcement, and economic uncertainty as factors contributing to reduced Las Vegas visitation.
Dividend policy shift as focus turns to debt reduction
Maybank revised its annual RWLV EBITDA estimate downward to $100 million from $150 million and reduced RWS mass-market gaming revenue and non-gaming revenue forecasts for 2025. Despite the earnings cuts, the analyst maintained unchanged dividend estimates of 11 sen per share annually, expecting the full amount to be declared in the fourth quarter.
The company’s decision to skip the interim dividend marks a departure from historical practice as management focuses on debt reduction and capital allocation for growth initiatives across its global portfolio of gaming and hospitality assets.
