Las Vegas Sands Profit Falls as Macau Remains Challenging
April 20 2016 - 05:41PM
Dow Jones News
By Josh Beckerman
Las Vegas Sands Corp. reported first-quarter results below Wall
Street expectations, as the Macau market remained challenging.
The casino company said "we do see signs of stabilization,
particularly in the mass market."
Shares fell 4.1%, to $50.02, in after-hours trading.
A corruption crackdown and weakening economy on the mainland
have cut into business in Macau, the only place in China where
casinos are legal. Casino operators have been re-evaluating costs
amid the pressures on their revenue and margins.
Las Vegas Sands said first-quarter revenue at the Sands China
business fell 7.9%, to $1.63 billion.
Over all, Las Vegas Sands reported a profit of $320.2 million,
or 40 cents a share, down from $511.9 million, or 64 cents a share,
a year earlier. Excluding pre-opening expenses and other items,
per-share earnings fell to 45 cents from 66 cents. Revenue fell
10%, to $2.72 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings excluding
items of 63 cents a share on revenue of $2.88 billion.
Earlier this month, Las Vegas Sands agreed to pay $9 million to
settle Securities and Exchange Commission allegations that its
Chinese operations had poor accounting controls from 2006 through
at least 2011.
The allegations focused primarily on the company's sponsorship
of a Chinese basketball team, plans for a business center in
Beijing, and a ferry deal in Macau. The SEC said the company
transferred more than $62 million to a consultant in China, often
without supporting documents or appropriate authorization.
The company's U.S. properties include the Venetian in Las Vegas
and Pennsylvania's Sands Bethlehem. It also owns the Marina Bay
Sands in Singapore.
Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 20, 2016 17:26 ET (21:26 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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