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China – Sands beginning to see ‘meaningful recovery across different segments’

By - 22 October 2020

Despite net revenues sliding down by 82 per cent to $586m for for the quarter ended September 30, 2020, Las Vegas Sands has seen ‘meaningful recovery across the different segments.’

In Singapore, Marina Bay Sands had a profitable quarter as operations progressively resumed across the resort during the summer. In Macao, operating losses reduced sequentially over the second quarter. In Las Vegas, the recovery is ‘well under way’ with weekend occupancy rates as high as 70 per cent.

Sheldon G. Adelson, Chairman and CEO, said: “I am pleased to say the recovery process from the Covid-19 pandemic continues to progress in each of our markets. Our greatest priority as the recovery continues remains our deep commitment to supporting our team members and to helping those in need in each of our local communities of Macao, Singapore and Las Vegas.

“We remain optimistic about the eventual complete recovery of travel and tourism spending across our markets, as well as our future growth prospects. We are fortunate that our financial strength supports our previously announced capital expenditure programs in both Macao and Singapore, as well as our pursuit of growth opportunities in new markets.”

As the resumption of visa issuance across all provinces in China only commenced toward the end of September, Mr. Adelson said the initial stages of recovery since then have been very encouraging.

“During the October Golden Week, we saw meaningful recovery across the different segments of our Macau operations,” he said. “Importantly, business volumes in the Premium Mass segment enjoyed the most significant resurges. This vital segment is central to our ongoing investment program in Macao and has been leading our revenue generation at this stage of the recovery. We expect the base mass market to recover as visitation to the market increases.”
With regards to Singapore, he said he was ‘encouraged’ that Marina Bay Sands was profitable in the third quarter ‘despite the absence of overseas tourists.’

Mr Adelson explained: “We hope to see the initiation of reciprocal travel arrangements in the coming months as health concerns permit. We remain committed to pursuing long-term investment in Singapore and our expansion of Marina Bay Sands, although there would be likely delays in the timing of the expansion given the challenges created by the pandemic. In addition to the expansion, we will continue to reinvest in Marina Bay Sands to enhance the customer experience and the tourism appeal of the resort.”

Grant Chum, Chief Operating Officer, Sands China, said: “October was the first time since January that we’ve seen significant real business volumes in patronage with premium mass the strongest segment by far, and that is really across all of the different tiers of premium mass. The patrons returning first to Macau are the high-quality, high-frequency customers. I think that reflects the pent-up demand that these guests have, and these are the ones who are used to staying overnight in Macau. They are used to having multiple-night stays in Macau, enjoying the destination, and these are the first customers to come back, and that’s natural.”

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