Comment – As mentioned before Las Vegas Sands has had a head start on Wynn Resorts, which so far has outlayed cash but as yet has to see a return on its Wynn Macau Resort due to open on September 6. It just shows that Macau is the place to be, whilst Las Vegas dropped by 17%, Sands Macau profits increased by 36% and has done so every quarter since it openend in May 2004! On August 23, Sands Macao will finish adding 350 slots and 250 additional tables to its gambling floor. In the past, Adelson’s Las Vegas and Macau rival, Steve Wynn, has poked fun at the former’s Macanese casino, dubbing it “Sheldon’s box of baccarat.” Weidner could not resist returning the jab, telling analysts the augmented Sands Macao would shortly have “over three times the (gaming) capacity of the Wynn Resort, scheduled to open in September.” No wonder LVS shares are up by 65% so far this year!
As reported by Reuters – Casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS – news) said on Wednesday that its second-quarter profit rose 27 percent, as stronger earnings at its Macau casino offset weaker results in Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas-based company said net income rose to $109.3 million, or 31 cents a share, from $86.4 million, or 24 cents a share, a year earlier.
Excluding one-time items and development expense, Sands said it earned 34 cents a share, compared with the average analyst estimate of 27 cents a share, as compiled by Reuters Estimates.
Sands operates the Venetian resort and the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, and a casino in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau, which opened in May 2004.
Total revenue for the quarter rose 29.6 percent to $517 million.
First-quarter Macau operating income rose 36 percent to $101.6 million, while Las Vegas operating income fell 17 percent to $42.8 million.
The company attributed weakness in Las Vegas to gamblers’ good luck, higher payroll and benefit costs as well as stock option expenses.
The Venetian’s hotel revenue rose 6 percent to $88 million, while food and beverage revenue rose 27 percent to $35.2 million and convention and retail revenue rose 24 percent to $28.3 million.
In Macau, Sands is developing a Venetian resort. In Las Vegas, it is building a $1.6 billion casino resort, the 3,000-room Palazzo, next to the Venetian, which it said is on track to open in the third quarter of 2007.
In addition, Sands was the winning bidder for a $3.6 billion casino project in Singapore and has applied for a license to operate a casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
The company’s shares, which rose 6.3 percent to close at $65.28 on the New York Stock Exchange, were not trading after hours. They are up about 65 percent this year, outstripping a 10 percent gain for the Dow Jones U.S. Gambling Index (^DJUSCA – news).
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