Las Vegas Sands Q1 profit plunges 37.5%, Adelson sticks to his ‘stabilization’ story

Casino operator Las Vegas Sands took a tumble in its Q1 earnings report, dragged down by Macau’s inability to reverse its 22-month long decline.

For the three months ending March 31, Sands’ revenue fell 9.2% to $2.72b, while earnings were off 12.7% to $917.6m and net income plunged 37.5% to $320.2m. The decline was pinned on general Macau sluggishness, VIPs getting lucky in Singapore and $35.8m in unfavorable currency fluctuations.

Sands China remains firmly stuck in reverse gear, with revenue down 7.9% to $1.63b, earnings down 2.5% to $518m and profit falling 9.6% to $311.6m.

In keeping with market trends, VIP turnover was down across the board at all four Macau properties, although the Venetian Macao’s VIP turnover was down only 3.4%, far better than the double-digit declines at the other three properties, led by Sands Cotai Central’s near 41% turnover decline.