Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS): What You Need To Know

As expected, Cotai is driving Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)’ results to record levels on the back of massive mass-market growth. The company reported earnings last night, and revenue grew 19.5%, to $3.30 billion, and earnings per share rose $0.01, to $0.71. The bottom-line comparison was heavily affected by a lucky quarter last year, which I’ll cover below.

Growth on Cotai continues
It’s no surprise that Cotai was the driver of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)’ numbers. Last week, Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) reported earnings, and showed only 4.4% revenue growth versus 14.8% growth for Macau as a whole. You could see a good quarter forming for both Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) and Melco Crown, which are the only two U.S.-traded companies with exposure to Cotai.

The Venetian Macau continues to be the driver of results despite Sands Cotai Central being a newer resort. Revenue rose 12.9%, to $872.2 million, at The Venetian Macau during the first quarter, and EBITDA jumped 23.6%, to $348.5 million. Interestingly, Sands Cotai Central only generated $131.5 million in EBITDA despite being almost completely open during the quarter, and Four Seasons Macau’s EBITDA dropped 20.6%, to $53.6 million. Sands Cotai Central has a nearly identical number of tables as The Venetian Macau, so I expected revenue to trend across the street to the new casino.

Clearly, The Venetian Macau is the crown jewel on Cotai right now and will continue to drive results.

Singapore falls flat — sort of
At Marina Bay Sands, revenue dropped 6.3%, to $794.9 million, and EBITDA fell 16%, to $396.8 million, but this is where luck played a major factor. Last year, the casino’s rolling chip win percentage was 3.58%, an abnormally high level, versus 2.51% this year.

According to management, hold adjusted property EBITDA was up 15.7%, to $451.1 million, as VIPs and mass-market players gambled more. We’re now getting close to the $2 billion in ongoing EBITDA annually that I think the resort can reach.