At Resorts World Sentosa, the completion of Singapore Oceanarium and WEAVE lifestyle precinct has attracted higher footfall and strengthened non-gaming revenue. The group also debuted The Laurus, Singapore’s first The Luxury Collection all-suite hotel with Marriott International.
On the back of the improved results, analysts have kept a positive stance on Genting Singapore with all maintaining their “buy” calls.
UOB Kay Hian (UOBKH) has also kept its 89 cents target price as analyst Jack Goh notes both the group’s gaming and non-gaming revenues improved.
Gaming revenue in 3QFY2025 surged 22% y-o-y from 3QFY2024’s low base. This mainly reflects higher VIP rolling chip volume (+14% y-o-y) and win percentage of 3.1% (3QFY2024: 2.45%), which lifted overall VIP gross gaming revenue (GGR) by 45% y-o-y. Meanwhile, mass GGR is estimated to have grown modestly by 2% y-o-y as overall RWS footfall was marginally boosted by better visitations.
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RWS’ non-gaming segment surprised with major operational refinement. Non-gaming revenue surged 33% q-o-q and 7% y-o-y. This mainly reflects higher footfall following the completion of the Singapore Oceanarium and WEAVE lifestyle precinct. In 3QFY2025, daily available rooms remained at around 1,189 rooms following the closure of Hard Rock Hotel in March 2024 for renovations and rebranding (around 340 rooms). Meanwhile, hotel occupancy rate of 92% (2QFY2025: 73%) offset the slightly lower average room rate of S484 (2QFY2025: $490).
Goh says: “For the rest of 2025, we remain optimistic that GENS will continue to deliver sequential earnings growth. Our positive view is premised on accelerated foreign visitations and flight frequencies, plenty of mega entertainment events in the pipeline, sustained trend of higher spending per capita in RWS, and RWS’ intensified marketing efforts through digital platforms which will attract more footfall and spending.”
Meanwhile, all eyes are on the full launch of RWS 1.5, with multiple crowd-drawing atractions, such as Minion Land in Universal Studios Singapore (USS), Singapore Oceanarium, WEAVE, as well as the launch of The Laurus. RWS is also launching the Waterfront development in the longer term, which will add 700 hotel rooms, elevating the resort’s vibrancy, which will be rolled out in phases.
Similarly, Maybank Singapore has kept its “buy” call and $1.00 target price, as 3QFY2025 results were in-line with expectations, showing a meaningful recovery from 2QFY2025, which was negatively impacted by construction works and closure of certain attractions.
“Going into 4QFY2025, we expect gaming operations to improve and moderate any seasonal weakness in non-gaming revenue thanks to the reopening of The Laurus Hotel and the appointment of a new chief operating officer,” says analyst Yin Shao Yang, who believes that this will help to moderate seasonal weakness in non-gaming revenue in 4QFY2025.
While GENS had attributed its gaming revenue improvement to higher VIP volume, Yin is in the view that this was due to Marina Bay Sands (MBS) offering higher direct VIP rebate rates and promotional allowances which would have compressed their theoretical Ebitda margins.
CGS International too has an “add” rating on GENS with a 78.5 cents target price.
While analyst Tay Wee Kuang is upbeat that the group is showing signs of recovery from the opening of new attractions, he believes that the group’s market share within the mass gaming segment remains pressured by its peer, MBS, who observed casino revenue grow 79.5% y-o-y/0.8% q-o-q to US$1.08 billion in 3QFY2025.
“Nevertheless, we believe increased footfall at RWS with the opening of its various attractions will have positive spillover effects on its gaming revenue, although we note that 4QFY2025 could be seasonally weaker for GENS’s gaming segment due to outbound holiday travel of VIP gamers to other countries,” says Tay.
Tay expects a re-rating to follow when GENS exhibits further revenue growth, especially for its non-gaming segment. “We believe this could convince investors that GENS’s investment in RWS 1.5 (i.e. Minion Land, the Weave, Singapore Oceanarium and The Laurus) as well as Super Nintendo World and waterfront development that are slated to open in 2028 and 2030, respectively, as part of its $6.8 billion RWS2.0 project, will yield longer-term returns,” says Tay.
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DBS Group Research is however a little less bullish than the street as analyst Chee Zheng Feng keeps his “hold” recommendation on GENS with an 80 cents target price.
“The anticipated comparable VIP volume lift from the Oceanarium and Weave retail concept did not occur, indicating MBS’s continued edge in VIP retention and growth,” says Chee, noting that competition is strong and MBS is likely providing a stronger VIP offering.
While the opening of The Laurus in 4Q2025 could provide a lift, but VIP gaming is unlikely to see a major step-up amid strong MBS competition and some suites not yet online.
On top of that, Chee notes that the labour cost pressure are not going away. “While we did see some operational leverage, adjusted Ebitda margin remains below expectations (9MFY2025 at 35% vs 37% initial estimate). Labour cost pressure will likely persist into FY2026, especially with new and likely expensive management hires, including Si Chen as RWS COO on Oct 20,” says Chee, while forecasting adjusted Ebitda to settle near 35%/36% in FY2025/FY2026, reflecting elevated staffing and the time needed to ramp renovated assets.
Shares in GENS closed 3.9% higher on Nov 11 at 80 cents, reaching a 52-week high and meeting DBS’ target price.
