11:55 AM
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Shares of Genting Singapore PLC fell as much as 8.1 percent early on Friday after the casino operator reported a 35 percent drop in core earnings and flagged a cautious outlook due to muted economic growth in China.
The shares fell as low as S$1.48 after closing 4.9 percent higher on Thursday before the results were released. Genting Singapore was among the top traded stocks by value and volume on Friday morning.
Genting Singapore's January-March adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell to S$249.7 million ($202.5 million) from S$381.4 million a year earlier. Five analysts polled by Reuters had on average expected a profit of S$359 million.
OCBC Investment Research pared its 2013 fiscal year revenue estimate by 10 percent and core earnings forecast by 16 percent. It downgraded Genting Singapore stock to "sell" from "hold" and cut its target price to S$1.41 from S$1.52, saying the recent run-up in the share price seems "slightly overdone".
But OCBC said it would turn into a buyer closer to S$1.30 or lower and that a longer-term catalyst could come from a potential casino licence in markets like Japan.
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