Casino operator Las Vegas Sands posted modest gains in revenue and profit in the third quarter, despite slowdowns at its Singapore and stateside properties.
Figures released Wednesday show Sands generating company-wide revenue of $3.37b in the three months ending September 30, up 6.7% from the same period last year. Adjusted property earnings gained 6% to $1.28b while net income was up only $2m to $571m.
The Sands China operations in Macau reported overall revenue up 13.1% to $2.15b. The Venetian Macao had a particularly strong quarter, with revenue up more than one-fifth to $857m, while Sands Cotai Central improved 15% to $537m. The new Parisian Macao didn’t fare as well, with revenue dipping nearly 5.4% to $389m.
Sands President Rob Goldstein said the Venetian benefited from “an incredible amount of very concentrated high-end play” in its premium mass business. The Parisian enjoyed similarly “extraordinary” activity in Q3 2017, making for a tough comparison. Also, around 600 of the Parisian’s rooms – roughly one-quarter of its total – were undergoing renovation.
Sands China’s overall VIP win per table per day was up 15.3% in Q3. Mass market gaming also had a solid quarter, with ‘base’ mass daily win per table up 14.3% and premium mass up nearly one-quarter.
In Singapore, the Marina Bay Sands resort reported revenue falling 2.9% to $766m, as VIP turnover fell by one-quarter, while mass table drop and slots handle suffered low single-digit declines. Goldstein acknowledged that the property was “capacity constrained” but claimed other operators would kill to have a venue that generated up to $1.7b in annual earnings.
Stateside, the Las Vegas operations saw revenue fall 2% to $379m as room occupancy slipped 2.6 points, which also brought down food & beverage revenue. In Pennsylvania, the soon-to-be-sold Sands Bethlehem’s revenue was down 4.2% to $138m.
Sands boss Sheldon Adelson said his company remained bullish on Macau’s prospects, so much so that it is increasing its capital outlay there to $2.2b through 2021. Over $1b of this sum will be spent converting the (comparatively) underperforming Sands Cotai Central into the UK-themed The Londoner Macao.
The company used this capital outlay to illustrate its (publicly, at least) disdain towards the idea that US casino operators such as Sands could suffer should the current US-China trade war get any hotter than it already is. Goldstein said Sands was “making lots of money and we’re investing in our firm belief that we’ll be [in Macau] today, tomorrow and many years to come.”
