GGRAsia – Marina Bay Sands projects 40pct EBITDA leap post extension

Marina Bay Sands projects 40pct EBITDA leap post extension

Nov 20, 2024 Newsdesk Latest News, Singapore, Top of the deck

The promoter of the Marina Bay Sands casino resort in Singapore is forecasting a 40 percent leap in adjusted property earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) once a new phase – dubbed “MBS IR2″ – is operating. Currently, Las Vegas Sands Corp expects the US$8-billion expansion project to be completed by mid-2029.

The casino group projects annual adjusted property EBITDA of US$3.5 billion post the extension, from a US$2.5-billion target prior to the addition of facilities. It said it would focus its operation on the “Asian premium customer segment”.

Marina Bay Sands’ trailing 12 month adjusted property EBITDA reached US$2.06 billion as of the third quarter this year, which the parent said was 24.0 percent higher than full-year 2019 levels.

The projection on adjusted property EBITDA post MBS IR2 was given in an investor presentation issued on Tuesday.

The same day, Bloomberg reported the Singapore property was seeking a circa SGD12-billion (US$8.96-billion) syndicated loan with a seven-year tenure.

The news outlet said the loan would be used to refinance an existing SGD4-billion, seven-year, obligation dating from August 2019, as well as expansion of Marina Bay Sands.

MBS IR2 – the “IR” refers to integrated resort – will include a fourth tower (pictured left, in a rendering) with over 570 rooms, additional casino space, a 15,000-seat arena, a sky roof, shops, restaurants, and about 110,000 square feet (10,219 sq. metres) of space for meetings and exhibitions.

The price tag mentioned for the second phase of Marina Bay Sands is significantly higher than a US$3.3 billion investment in expansion, that was announced in 2019.

Tuesday’s presentation said the resort would have all its gaming tables in “smart” format by the end of 2025, via Angel Group’s Angel Eye product.

The update said Las Vegas Sands and Angel had “collaborated to develop a comprehensive smart table solution that incorporates RFID [radio frequency identification], video analytics, and artificial intelligence”.

The document added that as a result: “In mid 2024, Marina Bay Sands installed ‘dual camera +AI solution’ across all rolling and premium mass tables and will have the full solution deployed across all tables by end of 2025.”

The expansion of the complex is separate from a US$1.75-billion investment to revamp the existing three towers of Marina Bay Sands. Revamp work – now focused on Tower 3 – is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2025. Once completed, the existing complex will feature 775 suites and 1,069 refurbished rooms.

As part of the renovation, a high-end gaming space catering to VIP patrons was introduced in September on levels 53 and 54 of Tower 2 at the property.