Macau propels Sands to record-busting quarter
Las Vegas results also impressive, official says
Las Vegas Sands Corp. rode prosperity in Macau to a record-setting first quarter.
The company that owns the Strip’s Venetian and Palazzo resorts set several benchmarks for the quarter that ended March 31, including highest mass table gaming drop by revenue, highest retail mall sales and highest cash flow margin since the third quarter of 2006.
“At the same time, we received an all-time quarterly record in adjusted property EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) in both Singapore and Las Vegas,” Sands Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson said in a Wednesday conference call with investors.
“As I said last quarter, the G in my middle name stands for Gary, but it alsostandsforgrowth,andthatwas fully on display at present in each of our markets.”
The company outpaced the estimates of 13 Wall Street analysts for revenue and earnings. Sands also said it paid a 75-cents-a-share dividend during the quarter and will pay another June 28 to shareholders of record on June 20. The company also repurchased 1 million shares of stock valued at $75 million to enhance shareholder value.
The results were most impressive in Macau, where Sands is the dominant player in the world’s most lucrative gaming market.
The company is replicating its successful Las Vegas growth formula in Macau. Chinese travelers are coming from farther away to experience Sands’ entertainment, shopping and spas in addition to gambling.
“Theycomefromfurtheraway,and I think they’re very lifestyle-driven,” Sands President and Chief Operating Officer Rob Goldstein said on the earnings call.
“The way it’s described to us is that the acceleration of younger people who are very affluent bring their families, want to stay as much as four nights, they want to see Bruno Mars or whoever the star is that weekend, they want to shop at the stores, they want to go to the spa, and they like to gamble,” Goldstein said. “It’s quite a great combination. So they stay longer, they gamble more and have more time to spend in our shops.”
The company said travel from outside Guangdong province, the location of Hong Kong and Macau, has expanded rapidly in the past 12 months. From non-guangdong provinces of eastern China, Chinese visitation grew 15 percent in the past 12 months over the previous year and 18 percent in the first quarter compared with the first quarter of 2017.
Goldstein said Las Vegas also had an extraordinary quarter, though casino hold percentages were within normal parameters.
“I’ve been here since the open, and that’s the best quarter in history so we’re doing something very right,” he said. “To make $140 million in
Las Vegas for a quarter without doing something lucky, that’s pretty
Revenue 2018: 2017:
Net income 2018:
2018:
Earnings per share 2018:
2017:
exceptional results.”
Sands shares on Wednesday fell to $72.34 a share, down $1.45, or 2 percent, on volume slightly above average. The price rebounded by 91 cents, 1.3 percent, to $73.25 in after-hours trading.
The Review-journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702477-3893. Follow @Rickvelotta on Twitter.