Land-based gambling giant Las Vegas Sands was able to reduce its net loss in the third quarter of fiscal 2021 after easing restrictions on a new coronavirus (Covid-19) at its hotels helped revenue climb 92.2% year-on-year.
Revenue for the three months to 30 September was $857m (£620m / £736m), up from $446m in the corresponding period last year related to the coronavirus . This only applies to its Asian property following the sale of its Las Vegas business.
Casino revenue rose 89.7% to $533 million as Sands was able to welcome more players back to its casinos after some Covid-19 restrictions were relaxed, affecting its performance in the third quarter of 2020.
It also meant room revenue rose 185.7% to $100m, food and beverage revenue 35.5% to $42m, shopping centre revenue 98.8% to $165m and retail and other revenue 6.3% to $17m.
In terms of geographical performance, Macau's operating revenue jumped 260.2% year-on-year to $616 million, with the Venetian Macao Casino leading the way with revenue of $253 million, up 272.1% year-on-year.
However, revenue at the Marina Bay Sands facility in Singapore fell 11.4% to $249 million, with inter-company fees of $16 million and the elimination of segments resulting in a loss of $24 million.
Sands is now based solely on the Asian market after agreeing earlier this year to sell all its real estate and operations in Las Vegas. The operator will sell the subsidiaries that run the business in the US to private equity fund Apollo Global Management for $1.05bn in cash and $1.20bn in seller financing.
Meanwhile, the Venetian property and related assets will be sold to VICI Properties, a real estate investment fund that was spun off from Caesars in 2017, for $4 billion in cash. Sands expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
The properties, listed as discontinued operations, brought in $399 million in revenue in the third quarter, a significant improvement from $141 million in the previous year. Hotels accounted for most of this amount at $142 million, while $141 million came from casino operations. Another $70 million came from food and beverage sales and $46 million from convention and retail sales.
On the expense side, operating expenses in the third quarter rose 21.1% to $1.17 billion, with core expenses for resort operations at $810 million. However, consolidated adjusted earnings from property before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) improved from a loss of $163 million to a positive result of $47 million.
After accounting for interest expense of $157 million, a loss of $137 million from early debt repayment and $12 million of other expenses, the result left a pre-tax loss of $621 million, up from $659 million last year.
Sands received $27 million in tax credits and also noted a $99 million gain from discontinued operations and $127 million from non-controlling interests, meaning it ended the quarter with a net loss of $368 million, up $565 million from 2020.
"While increased pandemic restrictions impacted our financial results this quarter, we were able to generate positive EBITDA in each of our markets," said Sands chairman and CEO Robert Goldstein. "We remain enthusiastic about the opportunity to welcome guests back to our hotels as more visitors will eventually be able to visit Macau and Singapore.
"We also remain deeply committed to supporting our team members and helping those in need in each of our local communities as they recover from the impact of pandemic covid-19."
In terms of year-to-date results, revenue for the nine months to the end of September was $3.23 billion, an increase of 67.6% over the previous year.
All players, during the pandemic, can also safely use online resources such as Udenlandske Spillesider.
Operating expenses rose 18.1% to $3.77 billion, but Adjusted Real Estate EBITDA improved from a loss of $239 million to a positive $535 million. The pre-tax loss was reduced from $1.60 billion to $1.15 billion and the net loss for the period fell from $1.39 billion to $838 billion.
"Our industry-leading investment in our team members, our communities and our market-leading integrated resort offerings allow us to deliver growth very well as these travel restrictions are eventually removed and the recovery pays off," Goldstein said.
"We are fortunate that our financial strength supports our investment and capital expenditure programmes in both Macau and Singapore, as well as our pursuit of growth opportunities in new markets."
