Resorts World Sentosa's (pictured) "very high" holdings in its VIP gambling division helped Genting Singapore's business performance in the first quarter, according to several brokers, but player bad debts and other business cost issues still lurk behind it this year.

Genting Singapore, which operates half of Singapore's casino monopoly, reported trading highlights in the first quarter in a filing to its after-hours exchange on Friday, which saw its quarterly net profit roughly double quarter-on-quarter.

Banking group JP Morgan said in a note on Saturday: "Headline EBITDA of interest rates, taxes, depreciation and pre-recurring earnings was very strong (more than 45% above consensus) driven by very high VIP luck, which was very unexpected."

The agency added: "Singapore only discloses details of provisions for bad debt on a semi-annual basis. However, according to our estimates, provisions for bad debt remained high in the first quarter compared to pre-COVID levels, although they were lower than very high in the last quarter."

Banking Group Nomura said in its evaluation of Genting Singapore's Q1 highlights: "Adjusted EBITDA margin was 47%, compared to 35% in Q4 2023." 홀짜게임

Analysts Tushar Mohata and Alpha Agalwal also noted: "The first quarter was primarily expected to be seasonal strong, due to the Lunar New Year holiday, higher-than-usual VIP win rates and popular concerts."

Genting Singapore addressed the impact of Singapore's large-scale entertainment events on its casino resort business in April, following questions from investors. Referring to recent international performances by Coldplay, Taylor Swift, and Bruno Mars in Singapore, Genting Singapore said: "Large-scale concerts featuring internationally renowned artists amplify Singapore's global brand and its international standing as a vibrant tourist destination."