Las Vegas Sands Q2 Report Promises Good Things are Coming Singapore's Way
Published November 5, 2020 by Lee R
Las Vegas Sands' IR holding in Singapore appears a model for long-term sustainability.
Singapore shows strong IR proclivities in new Sands company report.
Excellent Q2 Returns
Las Vegas Sands’ LVS latest earnings report indicates that the group’s Marina Bay Sands IR property increased adjusted EBITDA level in the Q2 to $70 million in the heart of the Covid quarter.
Those gains come in the face of no foreign visitation and operations limited by social distancing measures.
Success Despite Warnings
The results contrast positively to foreboding information about the region arising from recent agency ratings sounding a note of caution about the Singapore market.
The warnings pertain to Sands rival Genting Singapore, which cited lack of foreign arrivals and slow recovery as drags on Genting Group’s earnings.
LVS Leader Speaks
In a call with analysts, LVS Group President Rob Goldstein said his company is “very encouraged with what’s happening in MBS,” and expressed his belief that the profits the group made this quarter “will continue to grow.”
Robust IR Performance
The IR already has some of the best margins in the industry, with expansion of slot machines from 1500 to 2000 set for January.
This bodes well for revenues because slots are particularly popular in the Philippines, and the diverse local permanent resident population are required to pay entry fees to gamble.
Slots Drive LVS Growth
Thus Goldstein attributes the gains to slots:
“That’s probably the big driver of our very strong slot ETG win, not as strong on the table side, where the market is not as favorable with local residents.”
Increasing Access
The next step for LVS would be the return of international visitors, which is of course out of any private organisation's control in the time of Covid. Encouraging news in that time comes with the announcement of plans for a new Hong Kong/Singapore air corridor which would bring visitors straight in from China.
Spreading the Wealth
Goldstein sees a bright future for the region, whose benefits could easily spin out into neighbouring regions, including Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan.
When these borders re-open, Goldstein predicts Singapore could “easily grow from, right now, $25 million, $35 million a month to maybe $50 million or $75 million a month and keep going.”
Outlook
The re-opening of borders is a tremendous variable right now, but whenever the Covid solution is realised, it looks like Singapore and LVS are in prime position to continue robust and expanding growth.
