Posted on: Wednesday, March 9, 2005

Sands' casino profits soar with Macau opening

By Josh Fineman
Bloomberg News Service

NEW YORK — Las Vegas Sands Corp. yesterday said fourth-quarter earnings rose ninefold, spurred by the opening of a casino in the Chinese territory of Macau.

Net income at the Las Vegas Sands, owner of the Venetian Casino Resort in Las Vegas, rose to $69.3 million, or 21 cents a share, from $7.7 million, or 2 cents, a year earlier. Revenue more than doubled to $347.6 million, the Las Vegas-based company said yesterday.

The company's $265 million Sands Macao, Asia's first Las Vegasistyle casino, opened in May and generated $171.5 million in revenue while sales at the Venetian rose 7.5 percent on higher room rates. Las Vegas Sands went public in December, raising $690 million in the biggest initial public offering by a U.S. casino company.

"Overall the business volumes seem healthy," said Eric Hausler, an analyst for Susquehanna Financial Group in New York. "People were a little concerned about Macau. Expectations were high; the stock was running up."

Shares of Las Vegas Sands fell $2.45, or 4.9 percent, to $47.35 at 4:16 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They've risen 63 percent since trading began Dec. 15.

Excluding costs related to Macau opening, Las Vegas Sands said it earned 19 cents a share. On that basis, the company exceeded the 16-cent average estimate of six analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

Earnings also rose at casino companies Caesars Entertainment Inc., Harrah's Entertainment Inc. and MGM Mirage on gains in Las Vegas tourism and gambling. Caesars, the largest U.S. casino company, swung to a fourth-quarter profit of $20 million from a year earlier loss as more gamblers visited its resorts, including Caesars Palace Las Vegas.