Las Vegas Sands targets annual EBITDA of $2bn from Singapore as post-Covid “party is just starting”
Las Vegas Sands chairman and CEO Robert Goldstein insists “the party is just starting” in Singapore as the region generated the lion’s share of the operator’s $1.01bn net revenue in Q3 2022.
Sands’ flagship Marina Bay Sands property generated $756m in net revenue, more than tripling the $249m generated in Q3 of last year, and $343m in adjusted property EBITDA, up from just $15m in the prior-year period.
Those figures brought Marina Bay Sands’ revenue for the first nine months of the year to $1.83bn, up from $1bn during the same period in 2021.Sands’ Macau properties, however, did not fare so well during the latest quarter, as revenue in the region dropped by 58.1% year-on-year to $258m.
That was the result of continually changing restrictions in Macau, particularly relating to travel into the region, which has plagued Sands’ Chinese-facing business since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
The impact of the pandemic upon the business appears to be letting up, however, as increased revenue from Singapore helped the land-based operator begin to narrow its quarterly losses.
Q3 saw the business declare an operating loss of $177m, down from $316m in Q3 2021, and a net loss of $239m, down from $368m.
Indeed, the company remains bullish on its prospects in the Singapore market, having earned pre-Covid annual EBITDA in excess of $1.66bn from its Marina Bay Sands property in 2019.Las Vegas Sands chairman and CEO Robert Goldstein: “I think Singapore is just beginning. I always joke for the guys here that the party is just starting in Singapore.”
Speaking to analysts on the firm’s Q3 earnings call, Goldstein said: “I think Singapore is just beginning. I always joke for the guys here that the party is just starting in Singapore.
“The truth is that Singapore is going to grow, and for a couple of reasons. One is that the destination is getting more powerful than ever, and our building is getting better than ever.
“And I think when you see a rebound from China and the rest of Asia, $1.6bn will look very small and our ability to grow will be much larger than that. I think we can keep going to $2bn in the next couple of years if we get it right and the market fully recovers.”
“We are fortunate that our financial strength supports our investment and capital expenditure programs in both Macau and Singapore, as well as our pursuit of growth opportunities in new markets.”
Indeed, the business still has access to unrestricted cash balances of $5.84bn and a further $2.95bn available for borrowing under its revolving credit facilities.
As of 30 September 2022, the firm’s total outstanding debt was $15.27bn.