Sands revenue more than doubles, thanks to recovery in Macao

The steady recovery of visitation in Macao helped Las Vegas Sands Corp. more than double second-quarter revenue from a year ago to $2.5 billion, the company reported Wednesday.

Executives of the Las Vegas-based gaming company said the company’s scale in Macao and Singapore bodes well for the future, particularly since those markets haven’t fully recovered since 2019 when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down much of those markets. Sands has five casino resorts in Macao and one in Singapore.

Total visitation to Macao from nearby Guangdong province in the second quarter was 80 percent of what it was in 2019, leading Sands officials to believe the market hasn’t fully recovered and there’s room for growth.

The company also said visitation from the rest of China, excluding Guangdong, was just over 2 million, 51 percent of 2019 figures. Visitation from Hong Kong exceeded 2019 figures to 1.9 million visitors for the quarter.

Traffic at Macao’s airport reached about 50 percent of capacity for the quarter as did passenger arrivals at Hong Kong International Airport. Macao is about a 45-minute ferry ride from Hong Kong.

The increased revenue and income for Sands will enable it to reinvest profits into nongaming amenities in Macao as required in the new licensing agreement Sands signed with the government of Macao last year.

The company’s profitability also enabled the company to reinstate its dividend for the quarter. Shareholders will receive 20 cents a share on Aug. 16 to shareholders of record Aug. 8.

“In Macao, we were pleased to see the ongoing recovery now underway in all gaming and nongaming segments progress during the quarter,” Sands Chairman and CEO Rob Goldstein said during a Wednesday conference call with investors. “We remain deeply enthusiastic about the opportunity to continue our investments to enhance Macao’s tourism appeal to travelers from throughout the region, including to foreign visitors to Macao.”

Goldstein also was enthusiastic about growth opportunities in Singapore where Sands is one of two licensees in the market.

Gaming industry analyst Carlo Santarelli said Sands capitalized on both gaming and nongaming revenue streams during the quarter.

In a report to investors, Santarelli showed the vast differences between revenue generated in the second quarter of 2022 and the current quarter. The company collected $1.5 billion in gross gaming revenue, including $1.2 billion from mass market table games, $181.7 million from VIP tables, $151.3 million from slot machines, $192 million from hotel rooms and $196 million from retail, entertainment and food and beverage. By comparison, a year ago, the company collected $267.6 million in gross gaming revenue, including $184.7 million from mass market table games, $57.5 million from VIP tables, $25.4 million from slot machines, $41 million from hotel rooms and $117 million from retail, entertainment and food and beverage.

The average daily room rate in 2Q 2022 was $141 compared with $205 this year and the occupancy rate was 88.7 percent compared with 31.3 percent last year.

Company officials offered no commentary on the status of its licensing bid in downstate New York where Sands is one of several companies bidding for three licenses.

The Review-Journal is owned by the Adelson family, including Dr. Miriam Adelson, majority shareholder of Las Vegas Sands Corp., and Las Vegas Sands President and COO Patrick Dumont.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.