Genting Hong Kong says it is targeting a 2020 opening for its new Westside City Resorts World integrated resort in Manila’s Entertainment City as the company looks to expedite operations of its new land-based and cruise ship offerings.
Tentatively scheduled to launch sometime in 2020 or 2021 according to recent reports, Genting Hong Kong is aiming for the former, stating in a Thursday filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that, “Come 2020, another Resorts World brand will have its second location in the country. The Westside City Resorts World will be a 31-hectare property situated in Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation’s Entertainment City and is projected to have at least 1,500 hotel rooms from in-house and international hotel brands.”
The announcement forms part of the company’s unaudited results for the six months to 30 June, which confirmed previously warned losses of US$203.2 million despite a 22.2% year-on-year increase in revenue for the period to US$532.5 million.
The company attributed the majority of the loss to “additional depreciation of Genting Dream and Crystal Mozart, higher marketing costs and startup costs of new Crystal river ships and startup costs of new Crystal AirCruises operations in 2017” as well as higher overall operating expenses and new build activities at its shipyards in Germany.
Revenue from non-cruise related activities also suffered a hit from the suspension of gaming operations at Resorts World Manila for 28 days in June following the attack that killed 38 people earlier that month, with Genting Hong Kong’s share of profit from its share in RWM operator Travellers International Hotel Group plummeting to just US$2.2 million from US$19.1 million 12 months earlier
Non-cruise revenue for the period increased slightly to US$61.3 million from US$51.9 million in 1H16.
Group EBITDA for 1H2017 was negative-US$91.7 million compared with negative-US$28.1 million in 1H16. Cruise and cruise-related activities recorded a negative EBITDA of US$18.3 million in 1H17, compared to positive EBITDA of US$18.8 million over the same period in 2016.
Aside from its ambitions around the opening of Westside City Resorts World, Genting Hong Kong said it was also fast-tracking Phase 3 of RWM’s expansion in the wake of the 2 June attack with the completion of the Sheraton Manila Hotel, Hilton Manila and Maxims II targeted for early 2018.
“The new lodgings will also include additional gaming areas, more retail space and six basement parking decks,” it said. “The Sheraton Manila Hotel will offer 391 new hotel rooms and Maxims II an additional 190 rooms, while Hilton Manila will house 355 rooms. Upon completion of all three, RWM’s room count will increase to 2,390 –the biggest among all the integrated resorts in the Philippines.”
In regards to its cruise ship business, the company said that, “Due to long delivery dates for cruise ships with orders up to 2026, Genting Group decided to invest in MV Werften in order to build cruise ships for its three brands promptly.”
The first of four river ships was delivered in August, while the first Crystal “Endeavor Class” expedition yacht is due in late 2019 and the first of two 204,000 gross ton “Global Class” ships for Genting Cruises in late 2020.
