Genting HK

Genting HK: 50% owned NCL Cruise files registration for IPO in the US. NCL plans to raise some US$250m to pare down outstanding loans, fund capex and for general corp purposes. In particular, NCL has ordered 2 new Freestyle Cruising ships for delivery 2013 and 2014, worth a combined EUR1.2b. Move likely viewed positively, as this would allow better price discovery of Genting HK’s key unit, and reflects improving prospects at NCL…

Separately, NCL reports a good set of 3Q10 results. Revenue +15.1% yoy, +33% qoq at US$634m, boosted by the addition of Norwegian Epic to the fleet, which drove improvement in Net Yield of 9.5%. Net profit +8.6% yoy at US$93m, reversing 2Q’s US$15m loss, as previous large FX losses were not repeated in this qtr. 9M10 net profit stands at US62m, vs US$106m last yr. If NCL is able to repeat this qtr’s performance in 4Q, NCL could be on track for an excellent yr...

Stock has been consolidating in the US$0.42-0.48 range for the past month. Positive news from NCL may give reason for Genting HK to test the higher end of the trading range, vs last close at US$0.44.