Casino operator Las Vegas Sands sees 35% drop in 2Q profit on lower table winnings
Posted Jul 25, 2012 05:26:27 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Las Vegas Sands Corp. said Wednesday that second-quarter profit tumbled by 35 per cent as the casino operator’s table winnings fell at home and in Asia.
Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson said the results didn’t meet his expectations. They didn’t meet Wall Street’s, either.
Shares of Las Vegas Sands fell 88 cents, or 2.3 per cent, to end regular trading at US$37.51. In about an hour of extended trading after the results came out, the shares lost another $2.56, or 6.8 per cent, to $34.95.
The company said its net income fell to $240.6 million, or 29 cents per share, from $367.6 million, or 45 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, the company said it would have earned 44 cents per share.
Analysts were looking for 60 cents per share, according to FactSet.
Revenue rose 10 per cent to $2.58 billion, but that, too, didn’t impress analysts, who had expected $2.77 billion.
Adelson said earnings were hurt by lower hold on table games, more accounts receivable in Singapore and higher legal expenses. He found solace in the higher revenue and said the company expected strong growth from its new Sands Cotai Central resort in China’s Macau region.
The company operates The Venetian and Palazzo in Las Vegas. Customers played more at slots and baccarat, less at other table games, which it said reflected overall conditions in the gambling mecca.
