Genting Malaysia survives 2018 by the grace of tax breaks

Genting Malaysia’s revenues might be down, and investments might not have worked out the way they hoped, but profits improved regardless. That’s the news from their recent fourth quarter reporting to the Bursa Malaysia stock exchange.

The operator reported that Q4 profits rose 60.1% year over year in 2018, rising to MYR720.14 million (US$176.7 million). This was despite a 1.5% decline in revenue.

They accomplished this feat thanks to a change in taxes. In January 2019, the casino operator appealed to the Malaysian government for additional tax exemptions. That gambit paid off, and as a result the company saved MYR304.98 million per quarter (US$74.97 million).

Don’t take that for granted though. Japanese brokerage firm Nomura notes that the tax decision is not yet final. They wrote, “Note, however, that the final tax incentive decision of the courts will likely only come by third quarter 2019, so the outcome remains unclear.”