Earnings soar 79 percent

Macau growth propels Las Vegas Sands

2013-10-21
Reading time 1:53 min
(Macau).- Las Vegas Sands said its financial performance for the third quarter easily surpassed that of last year thanks to increased earnings from the company’s casino holdings in Macau. The casino operator, which runs The Venetian and Palazzo on the Strip, said its net profits increased 79.2 percent to USD 626.7 million for the quarter ending Sept. 30. The company earnings per share increased 81 percent, in line with a predictions by analysts polled by Thomson Financial Network. Las Vegas Sands grew revenues 31.7 percent to USD 3.57 billion.

Las Vegas Sands Chairman Sheldon Adelson said the financial results reflected the company meeting its four principal strategic objectives: maximizing growth in its portfolio of casinos, new investments in current markets, developing opportunities in new markets and increasing financial returns to shareholders. “Looking ahead, we are confident that our business model gives us a sustainable competitive advantage in the integrated resort industry as we seek new development opportunities,” Adelson said in a conference call with analysts and investors.

Las Vegas Sands reported earnings after the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of the company closed at a 52-week high of us$ 70.97, up us$ 1.44 or 2.07 %. Through stock repurchases, the company returned nearly us$ 299.6 million to shareholders. Las Vegas Sands officials said they planned to increase its recurring dividend per share to us$ 2 (50 cents per quarter) starting in 2014, an increase of 42.9 %. The company’s operations in Macau, including the Venetian Macau, Sands Macau and Sands Cotai Central, accounted for more than 65 percent of Las Vegas Sands’ overall quarterly revenues.

Macau net revenues were us$ 2.34 billion, a 42.7 % increase compared with same quarter in 2012. Profits in Macau grew 89.1 % to us$ 617.9 million. Analysts are predicting a monthly record for gaming revenues in Macau, partly because . Golden Week, a seven-day Chinese national holiday celebration, fell in the first week of October. The single-month record for revenue in Macau was March 2013 when casinos collected us$ 3.92 billion.

Macau produced a record us$ 38 billion in gaming revenues in 2012, and the market is up 17 percent through September. Las Vegas Sands is spending us$ 2.7 billion to build a 3,000-room Parisian-themed hotel-casino on the Cotai Strip region of Macau that is expected to open by the end of 2015. “Las Vegas Sands reported very strong third quarter results, as continued strength in Macau offset slight weakness elsewhere,” RBC Capital Markets gaming analyst John Kempf told investors.

In Las Vegas, the company’s two casinos on the Strip grew revenues 2.9 % to us$ 375 million in the third quarter. In Singapore, the company’s Marina Bay Sands resorts grew revenues 23.8 % to us$ 774.2 million. “In Singapore, results were slightly lower than our expectations on the margin side, but volumes also looked healthy,” Kempf told investors.

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