By Ying Xian Wong


Genting Bhd. shares rose Friday morning as analysts raised ratings and target prices for the resort operator after its profit surged in the third quarter.

Shares in the Malaysia-listed company jumped as much as 4.4% and were recently 3.2% higher at 4.50 ringgit, on track for their third-biggest daily gain in a year.

Genting said late Thursday that its profit rose to 520.5 million ringgit ($111.2 million) in the quarter compared with MYR128 million in the same period a year ago, mainly due to the sustained postpandemic recovery of travel and tourism.

Lower impairment losses, reduced finance costs, and higher profit contributions from its joint ventures and associates also helped boost profit, it said.

Quarterly revenue rose 20% to MYR7.37 billion amid a higher contribution from its leisure and hospitality division.

Affin Hwang Investment Bank upgraded its rating on Genting to buy from hold and raised the stock's target price to MYR5.10 from MYR4.50, citing the faster-than-expected postpandemic recovery.

Genting's earnings momentum may reach prepandemic levels by the second half of next year, Affin Hwang analyst Andrew Lim said in a note. He points out that Singapore gaming revenue has already surpassed pre-Covid levels, faster than Affin Hwang had expected. The bank had originally tipped a rebound in late 2024.

Maybank Investment Bank reiterated a buy rating on Genting, and lifted the company's 2023 to 2025 earnings per share forecasts by 37%, 15% and 11%, respectively. It also raised the stock's target price to MYR5.49 from MYR5.36, saying that the outlook for the company's core segments is promising.


Write to Ying Xian Wong at yingxian.wong@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-23-23 2121ET