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Las Vegas Sands’ Singapore Remains a Perspective Casino Market

Article by : Helen Nov 3, 2020

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Updated: Aug 12, 2022

Despite losing thousands of dollars in the third quarter, Singapore remained the only market with positive earnings. Is it magic or significant results of management? Maybe both of them. The revenue in Q2 2020 ($98m) has the second grate after Sands revenue $586m in the three-month ending, which is higher than Q2.

The Sands company experienced a loss of $203m in Q3. In 2019, their losses ($731m) were less than in 2020, which was quite a typical occasion for investors. They had nothing to worry about because the stock closed down less than 1% but jumped 4% in after-hours trading.

The sale of Sands Bethlehem partially accounts for the negative result. This decision has been approved in May, and the deal has provided a nine-figure boost to Sands’ Q2 results. Initially, Sands Bethlehem venue showed a revenue of $138m and earnings of up to$33m. However, in Q3 2018, it became a liability without pretty much making a dime in this most recent quarter.

What About Other Sands’ Gambling Venues?

Sands China, known as one of the company’s most vital revenue generators, reported revenue drop 92% year-on-year to $167m while booking a net loss of $562m. Along with that, their profit in Q3 2019 was $454m. Macau casinos have a negative result of revenue (at least 90% decline.) That being said, Sands President Rob Goldstein admitted that currently, Macau is going through challenging times.

Things are better in Las Vegas, where table drop fell only 10%. It’s important to mention that it slipped 62.6% to $152m. Lots of hotels in Macau have quite a high level of occupancy in single-digit territory, but Vegas has a 43.7% rate, although the market has experienced losses of $40m.

Marina Bay Sands, which is based in Singapore, refused a pandemic shutdown and informed about revenue of $281m (-64.6%) and earnings of $70m (-84%) as occupancy reached a relatively high level (55.5%). At the same time, VIP turnover fell 80%, and the mass table drop fell 70.4%.

Las Vegas Casinos Rising Occupancy Levels With More Gambles Visiting On The Weekends

What’s the best time for having fun and going to the casino? Weekend! That’s why the leader of Sands, Sheldon Adelson, spoke optimistically of rising occupancy rates in Las Vegas, especially on weekends. He acknowledged that the midweek situation was not as bright but said gaming was running around three-quarters of what it used to be.

Group tours are the most profitable source of income and customers for Sands. As per Goldstein, “the Capital of Entertainment” wouldn’t fully recover until the out-of-state visitors return. The company just can’t replace numerous flights to Vegas, which have been canceled or wholly removed from the airlines’ schedules due to the virus.

Sands Anticipating The Future With Optimism

Beijing has already approved the resumption of the Individual Visit Scheme in September, and it might be possible for Chinese gamblers to visit Macau again. At the same time, if mainland Chinese gamblers are unwilling to travel to Macau, Sands is similarly powerless to do anything about that.

Otherwise, Sands has plans for future development. One of them is to restyle the Sands Cotai Central into the Londoner. Goldstein has informed that Sands was just “starting, not writing off” anything and that they will keep track of the revenue and returns to make sure the company’s shareholders remain satisfied.

We are sure to see more changes and progress in the period of next year. The recent events have perfectly demonstrated the power of Sands, its future perspectives, and well-developed policy.

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