Casino operator Las Vegas Sands reported record revenue of $3.3b in Q1 2013, a 19.5% improvement over the same period the previous year. Net income rose 14.6% to $572m. As expected, Sands’ Asian properties were the main engines of the company’s success, contributing 88% of its Q1 earnings.
In case you doubted Sands’ near-total conversion to an Asian gambling company, Sands’ earnings presentation lists “high-end Asian gaming growth” as the number one item on the ‘best opportunities for future growth’ at its Las Vegas operations. And if you ever doubted the eastward tilt of the gaming industry (if not the world), consider another statement in Sands’ earnings presentation: “Asia’s middle class will grow from 500m people today to 1.75b people by 2020.”
Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson said the company’s four properties in Macau attracted a record 14m visitors in Q1, pushing Sands China revenue up 39% to $2.02b and profit up 63% to $452.9m. Collectively, mass market table games win rose 62.5% to a record $866.7m, slots and electronic table games (ETG) win rose 34.8% to $148.9m and rolling chip volume rose 24.9% to a record $41.15b.
On an individual basis, the Venetian Macao saw casino revenue rise 15.5% to $778.5m. A healthy rolling chip win rate of 3.57% (up from 2.93% the previous year) helped offset a 15.4% decrease in rolling chip turnover. But mass market table turnover rose 20.6% to $1.33b and win rate improved from 30.7% to 32.1%. Slots handle (which includes ETG) fell 4% to $1.19b while slot win was flat at 5.5%.
Sands Cotai Central wasn’t open in Q1 2012, so there are no previous year figures to compare, but suffice it to say, business is good. Rolling chip win was 3.09%, above Sands expected range of 2.7-3%, on turnover of $13.6b. Mass market table win rose 20% from Q4 2012, while mass table, slot and ETG win per day rose 16.7% to $3.01m.
At the Four Seasons Hotel Macao and Plaza Casino, gaming revenue fell 27% to $206.5m, as rolling chip turnover and win rate fell 25.4% and 0.62 points respectively. Slot handle fell 7% and hold slipped from 6% to 5%. The Sands Macao saw gaming revenue fall 11.3% to $302.4m as rolling chip turnover was flat and win fell nearly a full point to 2.76%. Mass table turnover rose 7.8% while win was flat at 21.1%. Slots handle rose 6.5% but hold fell 0.7 points to 3.7%.
Gaming revenue at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands (MBS) fell 8.7% to $640.2m, despite an impressive 42.2% rise in rolling chip volume to a record $18.2b. The primary culprit in the revenue fall was rolling chip win rate, which fell 1.07 points to 2.51%. Mass table turnover rose 2.4% to $1.19b and win rose 1 point to 23.2%, pushing mass revenue up 7% to $277m. Slots handle rose 1.6% to $2.78b while win fell 0.3 points to 5.1%, pushing revenue down 4.7% to $140.8m. Together, mass table and slot win per day rose 3.9% to $4.64m, tying a record set in Q4 2011.
Overall revenue at Sands’ two Las Vegas properties rose 7% to $411.5m while gaming revenue was up a more modest 0.8% to $159.9m. Table games drop fell 16.8% to $506.4m, but win rose 3.6 points to 27.6%. Slots handle rose 2.3% to $495.1m while hold was up 0.3 points to 8.8%. Occupancy rates rose 6.9 points to 90.3%, while food & beverage was up 12% to $68.3m and convention & retail revenue rose 14.2% to $85.3m. In Pennsylvania, Sands Bethlehem saw total revenue rise 6.3% to $122.9m while gaming revenue rose 5.6% to $114.8m.
