Genting International Q1 profit down 91pc

GENTING International Plc, owner of the biggest UK casino operator, said first-quarter profit fell 91 per cent because of higher bad debts and lower business volume.

Net income fell to S$6 million (US$4.4 million) from S$67.9 million in a year-earlier period, the company said in a statement yesterday to the Singapore stock exchange. Sales fell 14 per cent to S$168.8 million.

The profit drop underscores the effects of a smoking ban in the UK and the risk on gambling bets in the casino industry, it said.

The company, which won one of two licences for a casino in Singapore, said it’s “on track” to open the gaming resort in early 2010 after awarding S$2.1 billion worth of construction contracts.

Genting International is a unit of Genting Bhd, Asia’s biggest publicly traded casino operator. - Bloomberg