Las Vegas Sands gets knocked down in 2015, gets back up again

Casino operator Las Vegas Sands saw business slump last year but believes the struggling Macau casino market is showing signs of stabilization.

In the final quarter of 2015, Sands revenue fell 16.2% to $2.86b, while adjusted earnings fell nearly 22% to $1.05b and net income tumbled 35.4% to $465.8m. For the year as a whole, Sands revenue fell to $11.7b from $14.6b in 2014, while net income fell over 30% to $1.97b.

Sands China remains the prime engine of Las Vegas Sands revenue as well as the source of its current declines. Macau operations reported revenue down 21.7% to $1.66b in Q4 while profit fell 29.3% to $378m.

Macau’s well-publicized VIP slump was in full evidence, with turnover falling 18.6% at Sands Macao, 20.8% at the Venetian Macao, 51% at Sands Cotai Central and 60% at the Four Seasons. Mass market gaming was also down across the board, falling 21.5% at Sands Cotai, 18.6% at Sands Macao, 17.3% at the Venetian and 8.5% at the Four Seasons.