Lim Kok Thay is relinquishing his position as chief executive after 18 years at the helm of Genting Bhd. (Facebook pic)
PETALING JAYA: The resignation of Lim Kok Thay as Genting Bhd CEO coupled with the announcement of disappointing quarterly results for Genting and Genting Malaysia Bhd prompted a selloff in the two counters today.
Genting closed at its intraday low of RM3.29, an 11.8% or 44 sen drop, while Genting Malaysia tumbled 19.5% or 46 sen to RM1.90.
This was the lowest close in more than four years for the two stocks, with Genting valued at RM12.75 billion while Genting Malaysia was at RM11.28 billion. Their shares have dropped 31.5% and 33.8% respectively over the past year.
Genting suffered its first quarterly loss in two years after it posted yesterday a net loss of RM169.39 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2024 (Q4 FY2024) from a net profit of RM150.99 million a year earlier.
The quarterly loss was attributed to higher finance costs and share of losses in joint ventures and associates. For the full financial year, Genting booked a net profit of RM882.95 million, down 4.96% from RM929.2 million in FY2023.
It declared a final dividend of five sen per share, bringing the total payout for FY2024 to 11 sen per share, a 27% reduction from the 15 sen paid in FY2023.
Its 49.3%-owned Genting Malaysia also fared badly after posting a net loss of RM457.9 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2024, from a net profit of RM 239.6 million a year ago.
The huge loss was primarily due to net unrealised foreign exchange translation losses mainly on the group’s US dollar denominated borrowings, it said in a filing yesterday.
For FY2024, it posted a net profit of RM251.3 million, a 42.7% drop from RM436.8 million profit in FY2023.
Double whammy
It was a double whammy of negative news for the Genting group with the 73-year-old Lim stepping down as CEO on March 1, a role he has held since 2007. He will be succeeded by Tan Kong Han, Genting’s president and chief operating officer.
However, Lim will continue to serve as the group’s executive chairman and remains the group deputy chairman and chief executive of Genting Malaysia.
According to Forbes, Lim – the second son of Genting founder Lim Goh Tong – has a current net worth of US$1.8 billion (RM8.03 billion).
The younger Lim holds a 44% stake in Genting via Kien Huat Realty Sdn Bhd and Kien Huat International Ltd, according to Genting’s FY2023 annual report.
He also holds key positions in other Genting subsidiaries including 55.4%-owned Genting Plantations and 49.6%-owned Genting Singapore Ltd. He is the deputy chairman of Genting Plantations and the executive chairman at Genting Singapore.
Whether his decision to step down as Genting CEO marks the beginning of his exit from active oversight of the Genting empire is question investors are grappling with.
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