Macao travel restrictions continue to pummel Las Vegas Sands

Travel restrictions in Macao continued to drag on Las Vegas Sands Corp. earnings, but resiliency in Singapore had company officials feeling optimistic as they reported their third quarter results on Wednesday.

The company reported a net loss of $239 million, 31 cents a share, on revenue of $1 billion for the quarter that ended Sept. 30. A year earlier, the company showed a net loss of $368 million, 48 cents a share, on revenue of $857 million.

In a report to investors, analyst Carlo Santarelli of Deutsche Bank noted the disparity: Sands’ Macao operations produced casino revenue of $250 million in the third quarter compared with $609 million in 2021. But Marina Bay Sands, the company’s iconic resort in Singapore, generated $756 million this year compared with $249 million last year.

“While travel restrictions continued to impact our financial results this quarter, we were pleased to see further progress in Singapore’s recovery with Marina Bay Sands reaching $343 million in adjusted property cash flow,” said Rob Goldstein, chairman and CEO of Sands. “We remain enthusiastic about the opportunity to welcome more guests back to our properties as greater volumes of visitors are able to travel to both Singapore and Macao.”

Travel restrictions imposed by the Chinese central government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have affected Sands, the market leader in Macao, and every other operator in the special administrative region.

Goldstein indicated the company would wait for the return of visitors to Macao, where it maintains a high level of confidence that visitation ultimately will return to pre-pandemic levels.

Big Apple

During the conference call with investors, Goldstein said the company’s bid to be licensed in New York would be a “dogfight.”

“We’ve always been focused on the market for many years,” he said of the company’s New York bid. “We have property we’re putting together right now. We’re very bullish on New York as a market. It’s tough, because I think it’s going to be a dogfight, and we hope we’ll have a bid that gets attention.”

He expects requests for proposals to be accepted by the New York Gaming Commission by January with a decision reached on awarding three casino licenses sometime in 2023.

Sands is reported to have a proposal involving New York Mets owner Steven Cohen for a site near Citi Field, the stadium where the Mets play. The company has not commented on the Citi Field proposal.

Sands would have competition from as many as eight other casino companies.

Proposals include Resorts World New York City in Queens, owned by the Malaysia-based Genting Group, and the Empire City Casino, proposed by MGM Resorts International. Those properties would be located at existing horse racing tracks and are believed to have the advantage of being able to open faster.

Other potential bidders include Wynn Resorts Ltd., which is partnering with Related Cos. to develop Western Yards at Hudson Yards near the Javits Center convention facility, and Hard Rock International, the Seminole Indian Tribe-owned casino company based in Florida that wants to build a casino near Times Square. There is also Bally’s Corp., Rush Street Gaming, UE Resorts International Inc. and the Water Club.

Las Vegas Sands shares, traded on the New York Stock Exchange, fell 25 cents, 0.7 percent, to $35.60 a share on above-average volume. After hours, shares fell another 10 cents, 0.28 percent, to $35.50 a share.

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.

rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.