Las Vegas Sands Corp. said its second-quarter earnings fell 30%
as the slowdown in Macau hurt revenue.
The company said Macau remains challenging, particularly in
high-end gaming, but said cost discpline helped its margins there
and said it saw strong growth in its retail mall business.
Shares rose 3.4% to $56.84 in recent after-hours trading as the
company's revenue topped Wall Street expectations.
A corruption crackdown and weakening economy on the mainland
have cut into business in Macau, the only place in China where
casinos are legal. Casino operators have been re-evaluating costs
amid the pressures on their revenue and margins.
In June, Macau's gambling revenue fell 36%, marking the 13th
straight monthly decline, according to government data.
Las Vegas Sands said second-quarter revenue at the Sands China
business fell almost 27% to $1.77 billion. Segment net income
dropped 37% to $388.7 million.
The company's U.S. properties include the Venetian in Las Vegas
and Pennsylvania's Sands Bethlehem.
Overall, Las Vegas Sands reported a profit of $469.2 million, or
59 cents a share, down from $671.4 million, or 83 cents a share, a
year earlier. Excluding pre-opening expenses and other items,
per-share earnings fell to 60 cents from 85 cents. Revenue fell 19%
to $3.09 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share profit of
60 cents and revenue of $2.99 billion.
Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com
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