SG Morning Highlights | Genting Singapore Reports 31% Rise in H2 Profit on Strong Post-Pandemic Recovery

Singapore shares opened lower on Friday. The $FTSE Singapore Straits Time Index(.STI.SG)$ dropped 0.59 percent to 3,203.95 as at 9.05 am.

$Singtel(Z74.SG)$: Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) reported that its third-quarter underlying net profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2023, was at the same level as last year, as weak local operations offset growth in its information technology and Australian telecom units. Its underlying net profit came in at S$559 million ($416.45 million), same as last year. On a constant currency basis, underlying profit rose 1.5% from a year earlier. The profit was mainly driven by the firm's Australian telecom business Optus and information technology unit National Computer Systems (NCS), which recorded a 47% jump in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to S$75 million. However, SingTel Singapore, which offers mobile, TV, and digital services, operated in a challenging environment amid weak corporate and consumer spending, pushing the unit's EBITDA lower by 4.9% to S$372 million.

$Genting Sing(G13.SG)$: Integrated resort operator Genting Singapore reported a 31% rise in net profit to S$334.9 million for the second half of 2023, from S$255.7 million in the previous corresponding period. Revenue for H2 rose 26% to S$1.3 billion, from S$1.1 billion a year earlier. The higher profit is mainly due to the significant post-pandemic recovery of its businesses across the board, leading to strong revenue gains, according to the company. For the full year ended December 2023, net profit was up 79.8% to S$611.6 million, while revenue was up 40.1% to S$2.4 billion. Genting Singapore will focus on ongoing developments in Resorts World Sentosa, such as the Forum Lifestyle zone and Universal Studio Singapore’s Minion Land.

$Venture(V03.SG)$: Singapore's Venture Corp reported a 33.4% decline in net profit for the second half of 2023, on the back of lower revenue. Net profit for the six months ended Dec. 31, 2023, fell to S$130 million, down from S$195.3 million in the year-earlier period, and earnings slipped to S$0.447 in H2 FY23 from S$0.671 the previous year. Revenue for H2 fell 30.2% year-on-year to S$1.4 billion, mainly attributable to softening demand across its technology domains and customers' inventory destocking. For the full year, Venture’s revenue fell 21.7% to S$3 billion, and net profit slipped 26.9% to S$270 million.