GGRAsia – LVS Macau 3Q biz dips q-o-q, Singapore recovery ongoing

LVS Macau 3Q biz dips q-o-q, Singapore recovery ongoing

Oct 20, 2022 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Singapore, Top of the deck

Third-quarter net revenues at the Macau operations of Las Vegas Sands Corp fell 31.0 percent sequentially, as Covid-19 related restrictions continued to disrupt that market.

Such net revenue for the local unit Sands China Ltd was US$258 million, compared to US$374 million in the second quarter, said the parent in a Wednesday filing in the United States. Judged year-on-year, Sands China’s third-quarter net revenues were down 58.1 percent.

But third-quarter net revenues at the parent’s Marina Bay Sands casino resort in Singapore rose 203.6 percent year-on-year, and 11.3 percent quarter-on-quarter, coinciding with that market’s emergence from Covid-19 restrictions, and improvement in tourism volume.

The Singapore operation’s third-quarter net revenue was US$756 million, versus US$249 million in the same quarter of 2021, and US$679 million in the second quarter this year.

Singapore adjusted property earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose dramatically in year-on-year terms, to US$343 million from only US$15 million; and rose 7.5 percent sequentially from the second quarter’s US$319 million.

Casino revenue at Marina Bay Sands stood at US$510 million for the three months to September 30, up 2.0 percent from the preceding quarter.

But in Macau, third-quarter EBITDA was negative by US$152 million. That compared to US$32 million in positive EBITDA in third-quarter 2021, and a negative US$110 million EBITDA in the second quarter this year.

Sands China recorded a net loss of US$472 million in the three months to September 30, up from a net loss of US$422 million in the previous quarter.

Sands China’s third-quarter EBITDA loss was “broadly in line with estimates with Macau reopening still dependent on China’s Covid policy,” wrote Hong Kong-based analyst Andrew Lee of Jefferies Group LLC, in a Thursday note.

Analysts DS Kim and Livy Lyu of JP Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Ltd stated in their Thursday memo that Sands China’s quarterly EBITDA performance was “better than feared”.

Overall, the third-quarter net loss attributable to Las Vegas Sands narrowed year-on-year, to US$239 million, versus a net loss of US$368 million in the prior-year quarter. Measured sequentially, the third-quarter 2022 loss was down from US$290 million in the second quarter.

Las Vegas Sands said that at The Venetian Macao (pictured), Sands China’s first Cotai property, casino revenue fell 69.5 percent year-on-year, to US$60 million. Judged quarter-on-quarter, it was down 34.1 percent on the second quarter’s US$91 million.

VIP rolling chip volume at the property fell 85.3 percent year-on-year, and 56.4 percent quarter-on-quarter, to US$115 million. Mass-market chip drop went down 53.8 percent year-on-year, and 12.0 percent sequentially, to US$292 million.

“While travel restrictions continued to impact our financial results this quarter, we were pleased to see further progress in Singapore’s recovery,” said Rob Goldstein, the group’s chairman and chief executive, in prepared remarks in an accompanying press release.