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Las Vegas Sands
continued its pandemic loss streak in the second quarter as the company prepares to leave Las Vegas and focus even more on overseas markets. But sales have improved significantly.
Las Vegas Sands
(Ticker: LVS) reported an adjusted quarterly loss from continuing operations of 29 cents per share, an improvement of minus 86 cents in the corresponding quarter of 2020. Net sales in the second quarter improved significantly to nearly $ 1.2 billion, after the pandemic depressive Phase $ 62 million a year ago.
The stock was trading at $ 47.72 Thursday morning, down more than 3%. One concern: The company’s activities in Asia, particularly Macau, are subject to pandemic-related travel restrictions.
In early March, Las Vegas Sands announced that it would sell its Las Vegas real estate and operations for $ 6.25 billion. This transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, was a big change for a company whose late CEO Sheldon Adelson was a formidable figure on the Las Vegas Strip.
Adelson, who died in January at the age of 87, was instrumental in moving the company into hosting conventions, a key niche that fueled growth.
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Looking ahead, one advantage of selling real estate in Vegas is that it gives the company much more capital to invest in other opportunities in Asia and elsewhere.
However, the stock has lagged the market by about 20% this year.
In a note following the release of second quarter results, Jefferies analyst David Katz wrote that the stock “has become primarily a game of very gradual recovery and Asian investment and rising returns on capital over time, rather than appreciation past periods. ”
The company has a buy rating for Las Vegas Sands.
In a conference call with analysts on Wednesday after the market closed, CEO Robert Goldstein said the performance in Macau was better than in the first quarter. “But pandemic travel restrictions continued to affect our performance,” he said, adding that he was confident about the recovery in Macau and Singapore.
Sands China reported a net loss of $ 166 million in the second quarter, up from $ 549 million a year earlier.
The company has made Macau a priority. In 2019, before the pandemic broke out, Macau accounted for well over half of the company’s revenue.
However, the company continues to look into introducing other gambling companies in the US. “Texas, we remain committed to the wallet,” said Goldstein on Wednesday in front of analysts.
Earlier this month, Las Vegas Sands announced that it would be assembling a digital gaming investment team. Digital gambling and online sports betting are all the rage among casino companies, many of which have invested significant capital and resources. Las Vegas Sands has to catch up there.
Write to Lawrence C. Strauss at lawrence.strauss@barrons.com
