Casino operator Genting Singapore Plc. swings to a 17-fold net profit increase in the first three months of 2017 after unloading its stake in a resort in Jeju, South Korea and implementing cost savings.

In a disclosure to the Singapore stock exchange on Friday, Genting Singapore announced that its net profit jumped to SGD181.1 million (US$129 million) from just SGD10.8 million (US$ 7.7 million) in the same period a year earlier.

Genting Singapore, which operates Singapore casino complex Resorts World Sentosa and is a subsidiary of Malaysian conglomerate Genting Bhd, attributed its first quarter net profit to the sale of its 50 per cent interest in the Jeju integrated resort on Jan 3.

The sale reportedly generated a total of SGD96.3 million (US$68.69 million).