GENTING Bhd and Genting Malaysia shares plunged shortly after the market opened on Friday (Feb 28), after news broke on Thursday that Lim Kok Thay will step down as chief executive of Malaysia’s Genting after nearly two decades at the helm. Both entities also reported a net loss in their latest earnings announced on the same day.
On Bursa Malaysia, Genting Bhd shares fell nearly 10 per cent or 37 sen to RM3.36 at the outset, while Genting Malaysia shares fell 16.1 per cent or 38 sen to RM1.98.
At around 3 pm, Genting Bhd was down 11 per cent or 41 sen at RM3.32, while Genting Malaysia was down 14.8 per cent or 35 sen at RM2.01.
Shares of Genting Singapore on the Singapore Exchange were 0.7 per cent or S$0.005 lower at S$0.735 as at 3.16 pm on Friday.
On Thursday, it was reported that Tan Kong Han, president, chief operating officer and executive director, will take over as CEO of Malaysia’s Genting effective Mar 1, 2025.
As part of the transition, Tan has stepped down as CEO of Genting Plantations to focus on his expanded responsibilities at Genting, leading and overseeing the day-to-day operations of the group. He remains as executive director of Genting Plantations.
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Lim, the son of the Genting Group founder Lim Goh Tong, will remain as executive chairman of the group’s board of directors.
On the same day, Genting Bhd reported a net loss of RM169.4 million (S$51.2 million) for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, compared with a net profit of RM150.1 million in the previous corresponding period. Loss per share (LPS) stood at 4.4 sen, against an earnings per share (EPS) of 3.9 sen in the 2023 financial year.
Genting Malaysia reported a net loss of RM457.9 million for Q4, compared with a net profit of RM239.6 million in the same period in the previous year. LPS stood at 8.08 sen, against an EPS of 4.23 sen in the prior year.
Maybank Securities downgraded Genting Bhd and Genting Malaysia to “hold” from “buy”.
Citing that Genting Malaysia underperformed on weak margins, the research house slashed earnings estimates for FY2025 and FY2026 by 25 per cent and 26 per cent, respectively. It also lowered Genting Malaysia’s target price to RM2.41 from RM2.73.
Genting Bhd underperformed on the back of weak performance from Genting Malaysia and Resorts World Las Vegas. Maybank Securities cut earnings estimates for FY2025 and FY2026 by 34 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively. It also lowered Genting Bhd’s target price to RM3.98 from RM4.48.
Last week, Genting Singapore announced a 34 per cent fall in net profit in the second half of the year to S$222 million. EPS for FY2024 came in at S$0.0479, from S$0.0507 a year earlier.
