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US – Sands misses Macau estimates but set for record year in Las Vegas

By - 25 July 2019

Las Vegas Sands missed estimates with its Macau business during the second quarter with revenue growth coming in at just 1.4 per cent. But as Macau begins to slow, Sands could well be on for its best ever revenues in Las Vegas.

Net income attributable to Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter of 2019 increased to $954m, compared to $556m in the second quarter of 2018.

Rob Goldstein, President and Chief Operating Office, said: “We’re very proud of Vegas performance. We could have a record year here in Las Vegas. Everything worked in this quarter from a gaming and lodging perspective. The race was strong, the occupancy, our business was very good. The baccarat grew and I think again we’ll use the term highly concentrated. Our future in Las Vegas, I think is less and less dependent on the super high end and more dependent on slot, ETG and premium mass.

Overall net income for Sands was up 64 per cent to $1.1bn during the quarter, boosted massively by the US$556M proceeds from offloading Sands Bethlehem factored in. Consolidated EBITDA increased by 3.3 per cent to $1.27bn.
In Macao, EBITDA increased by two per cent to $765m,Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, generated EBITDA of $346m whilst Sands’ Las Vegas properties generated $136m.

Sheldon Adelson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: “We remain enthusiastic about our future growth opportunities in Asia, which will be enhanced through the introduction of our Four Seasons Tower Suites Macao later this year, the Londoner Macao throughout 2020 and 2021 and the expansion of Marina Bay Sands in Singapore thereafter. We are also aggressively pursuing additional development opportunities in new markets, including in Osaka, Japan. Finally, we remain deeply committed to maintaining our industry-leading financial strength while continuing to return capital to shareholders.”

Whilst Sands China lost pace in VIP its mass gaming segment, led by Parisian Macao and Venetian Macao, saw it maintain its growth. GGR at Parisian increased 11.4per cent to US$343m whilst Venetian Macao was up 3.1 per cent to US$698m. On the verge of a major redevelopment, Sands Cotai Central’s GGR fell by 7.3 per cent to US$358m.

Mr. Goldstein added: “We have the largest base mass business by far in Macau. And this quarter’s performance was exceptional. I think the bridge has been helpful, but the real story here resides in our capacity in lodging, gaming, entertainment and retail assets. We dominate the base mass segment and our competitive advantage is undeniable and it will live on for quite a few years. We also have the largest premium mass business in Macau and the largest margin in that segment.”

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