Las Vegas Sands loses nearly $1b, Adelson maintains “unbridled optimism”

Casino operator Las Vegas Sands lost nearly a billion dollars in the three months ending June 30 as COVID-19 rolled 7’s in Las Vegas, Macau and Singapore.

Figures released Wednesday show Sands generated revenue of just $98m in Q2, down 97.1% from the same period last year. Adjusted earnings swung from $1.27b in Q2 2019 to a negative $547m in the most recent quarter, and Sands booked a net loss of $985m versus net income of $1.11b one year ago.

The downturn is obviously due to the shutdowns of Sands’ properties in Nevada, Macau and Singapore due to COVID-19. Macau’s shutdown was the shortest, just 15 days in February, but its recovery is nowhere near where Sands needs it to be, despite the recent easing of quarantine restrictions in China’s Guangdong province.

Sands generated just $10m in gaming revenue in Q2, down from $2.36b in the same period last year. That was less than revenue from rooms ($14m), food & beverage ($12m), mall rent ($42m) and convention, retail & other ($20m).