Announcing results for the six months ended June 30, resort and cruise operator Genting Hong Kong reported a net loss of US$202.2m for the six months compared to a loss of $53.6m for the same period in 2016.

genting

Turnover was up 22 per cent to $532.5m due to a jump in revenue from its cruise-related business with passenger ticket and onboard takings rising significantly. However operating expenses also rose by 38.5 per cent to $477.5m due to start-up costs of new river ships and AirCruises operations.

The resorts side of the business fared better with Resorts World Manila marking its eighth year in operation with continuous expansion. Phase three of the resort’s expansion sees the completion of the Sheraton Manila Hotel, Hilton Manila and Maxims II targeted for early 2018, effectively making RWM a six-hotel integrated resort. The new lodgings will also include additional gaming areas, more retail space, and six basement parking decks.

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.

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.

In July 2017, the group disposed of 46.4m ordinary shares in The Star Entertainment Group at a consideration of approximately AU$235.2m (approximately US$180.3m). The group expects to realise a gain on disposal of available-for-sale investments of approximately US$56.2m, including the reclassification of the related available-for-sale investments during the year ending December 31, 2017.