Las Vegas Sands President Rob Goldstein had a simple response when asked about the company’s Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore.
The resort’s third quarter results Wednesday were overshadowed by the numbers from Macau, which provides Las Vegas Sands roughly 64 percent of the company’s quarterly revenues. Those revenues grew 6.7 percent last quarter, to $3.37 billion.
Marina Bay Sands had a somewhat disappointing quarter, with revenue declining 2.9 percent to $766 million. Cash flow was off 5.2 percent, to $419 million.
Much of the dip was attributed to a decrease in the mass market customer during the three-month period that ended Sept. 30.
Goldstein said Marina Bay Sands is currently “capacity constrained.” Las Vegas Sands would like to add additional hotel rooms, he said, but development is controlled by location and government building regulations.
Retail, hotel, food and beverage revenue drive the business.
“We’re thrilled with Marina Bay Sands, but it is what it is.” Goldstein said. “(It’s a) great business, we just need to get more capacity.”
Analysts weren’t concerned by the Singapore numbers.
“We believe (the) mass (market) drop is sustainable, but (Marina Bay Sands) continues to be capacity constrained,” said Roth Capital Markets analyst David Bain. He added that high-end volumes were down 25 percent year-over-year, but up 21 percent when compared to the second quarter.
Developed at a cost of more than $5.7 billion, the three-towered, 57-story hotel-casino-resort became an immediate Singapore landmark when it opened in 2010.
The venue’s centerpiece is the three-acre SkyPark, which sits atop the three hotel towers and weighs almost 7,000 tons. The SkyPark offers panoramic views of Singapore’s waterfront and the island nation’s skyline. It includes the world’s largest rooftop infinity pool and three restaurants and bars.
The property gained some pop culture attention this year. In June, North Korean ruler Kim Jong-Un checked out Marina Bay Sands during an impromptu guided tour of the city prior to his summit with President Donald Trump. The building also received significant screen time in the film Crazy Rich Asians, which has grossed over $230 million worldwide.
In his prepared remarks, Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson said Marina Bay Sands “continued to generate stable cash flow,” and overall non-gaming revenue grew 12 percent year-over-year.
“Marina Bay Sands continues to serve as the powerful reference site for emerging jurisdictions that are considering large-scale Integrated Resort developments,” Adelson said regarding the property’s use as a model in Las Vegas Sands’ pitch to land one of three Japanese gaming licenses.
“Competitively, this remains the No. 1 property in the world,” said Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Chad Beynon.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
