Fitch Warns Genting Malaysia’s Margins to Stay Under Pressure Until 2027

Genting Malaysia is bracing for continued pressure on profitability over the near term. In a recent rating commentary, Fitch Ratings forecasts that the company’s EBITDA margin will remain “compressed at ~23% from 2025 through 2027,” driven by rising operating and payroll-related costs, particularly in its UK and US operations. These cost pressures stem from things like higher minimum wages, labour-union contract renewals, and increased national insurance contributions in the UK.

Despite margin pressures, Fitch expects some relief through volume growth and geographic diversification. The Malaysian operations are forecast to grow by about 5% in 2026, helped by tourism-boosting initiatives and enhancements in its domestic properties. Also contributing is the recently acquired Genting Casino Stratford in London, whose addition should help with UK revenue and incremental EBITDA. Fitch also projects Genting Malaysia’s net leverage (EBITDA net leverage) will improve from around 4.6× in 2024 to about 3.5× by 2027. 

However, risks remain that could further squeeze margins or delay improvements. Macroeconomic uncertainty—both globally and locally—could hit international tourist numbers, an important revenue source outside Malaysia. Meanwhile, overseas operations are more exposed to labour cost inflation and regulatory burdens. Genting Malaysia also recently decided not to issue an interim dividend for the latest quarter, which Fitch views as an attempt to preserve cash flow amid these headwinds.