LV Sands Boosts Singapore Gains, Vows Turnaround in Macau

Summary:

• Marina Bay Sands delivered record Q2 earnings, with mass gaming going up 97% in the past six years.
• Macau properties didn’t perform as expected, as more aggressive customer reinvestment is necessary.
• Executives expect stronger results in Macau by adjusting strategies and improving room availability at the Londoner.

While the Las Vegas Sands is seeing huge success in Singapore, the company is still facing plenty of challenges in Macau. Company executives are already busy working on the right changes to turn things around.

In its second-quarter earnings report, Sands highlighted a standout performance at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, with adjusted EBITDA reaching $768 million.

Chairman and chief executive officer Rob Goldstein was full of praise for the property, saying it could bring in as much as $2.5 billion in earnings by year’s end.

All the pieces are in place for this property to continue to perform. We are in the right place at the right time. Singapore is a very desirable destination, and our product is as good as it gets. It’s difficult to find superlatives to describe the magnitude of this result. It’s unprecedented for a single building to perform like this.

The rise in mass gaming, up 97% from Q2 2019 and 40% from the same quarter in 2024, has cotnrbuted to the success.

More Customer Reinvestment Needed

However, Macau wasn’t as strong. While Sands reported $566 million in EBITDA from its Macau properties, Goldstein admitted the company misjudged how much customer reinvestment was needed to stay competitive.

We are not aggressive enough as it relates to customer reinvestment. We believed our buildings would be enough, but we were wrong… This new approach will create higher market share and EBITDA.

President and chief operating officer Patrick Dumont noted that without an unexpected high hold, the Macau figure would’ve been even lower by $7 million. Property margins were mixed, with the Venetian and Plaza at 35.6%, Four Seasons at 34%, and the Londoner at 31.9%.

Dumont said all 2,450 rooms at the Londoner were available by late Q2, and that should help going forward.

We expect growth in EBITDA as revenues grow and as we are using our scale and product advantages together with targeted reinvestment to better address every market segment

Sands China CEO Grant Chum echoed that sentiment, pointing to improvements seen in May and June after launching a more aggressive reinvestment plan in April.

This quarter is just the start. All of the rooms were available as of late April, and we intend to yield better at Londoner Macau.

Despite the rocky quarter, executives remain optimistic about their ability to grow EBITDA.