Macau casino operator Sands China continues to display recovery signals, with a narrower loss of $166 million in the second quarter of 2021, though LVS’ chairman says the company continues to suffer from the economic effects of the pandemic.
Total revenues increased to $849 million, compared to only $40 million in the second quarter of 2020, when the effects of the pandemic were most felt in Macau. Adjusted property EBITDA was $132 million, up from a $312 million EBITDA loss in 20Q1.
However, the results were still down significantly from 2019 second-quarter figures when the company posted $2.14 billion in revenue and net income of $511 million.
The lion’s share of revenue in the most recent quarter came from its flagship The Venetian Macao, which generated $391 million in revenue in the quarter. This was followed by the Londoner at $189 million and The Parisian Macao at $101 million in revenue. The company also operates The Plaza Macao and Sands Macao, all of which saw significantly better results compared to 2020.
Las Vegas Sands chairman and CEO Robert Goldstein said that pandemic-related travel restrictions in both Macau and Singapore have continued to hinder the wider group’s financial performance.
Just today, its casino at Marina Bay Sands has been forced to temporarily close for deep cleaning after it was identified as a new covid-19 cluster amidst a sizable covid-19 outbreak in Singapore.
“We remain enthusiastic about the opportunity to welcome more guests back to our properties as greater volumes of visitors are eventually able to travel to Macau and Singapore,” he said.
In May, Sands China president Wilfred Wong said the group is expecting “new heights” for occupancy rates in its Macau hotels over the summer holiday, based on performance during the May Golden Week.
