Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS): Q2 Earnings Preview 2011

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) is scheduled to release its second-quarter earnings after the closing bell on Tuesday, July 26, 2011. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report earnings of 44 cents per share on revenue of $2.21 billion. In the year ago period, the company reported earnings of 17 cents per share on revenue of $2.30 billion.

Las Vegas Sands Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops multi-use integrated resorts worldwide.  The Company is also creating a master-planned development of integrated resort properties, anchored by The Venetian Macao.

In the preceding first-quarter, the Las Vegas, Nevada-based company's net income was $228.2 million, or 28 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $28.9 million, or $0.04 per share, in the year-earlier quarter. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 37 cents per share in the first quarter. Revenue surged 58.2% to $2.11 billion from $1.33 billion in the same quarter of 2010. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of 44 cents per share on revenue of $2.14 billion.

The company has continued to benefit from the gaming boom in Asia. The Singapore gambling market is still relatively young, and Adelson and other company officials have touted the potential of big profits there for years. In Singapore, Las Vegas Sands opened Marina Bay Sands last year in April and first quarter 2011 revenues were $584.9 million, up 4.4% sequentially. The property has been well received by the market and it provides the company a great opportunity to explore the Asian market.

The company also has seen strong revenue growth and better margins in Macau. Macau, the only Chinese city where gambling is legal, has survived the economic downturn relatively well. Gaming-friendly policies of the local government have enabled the industry to achieve record earnings. Macau government recently announced that the world's largest gambling market posted an annual 52.4 percent rise in gaming revenue in June to 20.8 billion patacas.

However, the company’s Las Vegas business remains a concern. Las Vegas business, which was hit the hardest during the slowdown, is rebounding at a slow pace due to excess capacity in the market.

Full Disclosure: None.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS): Q1 Earnings Preview 2011

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) is scheduled to release its first-quarter earnings after the closing bell on Tuesday, May 3, 2011. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report earnings of 44 cents per share on revenue of $2.14 billion. In the year ago period, the company reported earnings of 7 cents per share on revenue of $1.33 billion.

Las Vegas Sands Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops multi-use integrated resorts worldwide.  The Company is also creating a master-planned development of integrated resort properties, anchored by The Venetian Macao. 

In the preceding fourth-quarter, the Las Vegas, Nevada-based company's net income was $273.0 million, or 34 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $113.9 million, or 17 cents per share, in the year-earlier quarter. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 42 cents per share. Revenue surged 57% to $2.02 billion from $1.28 billion in the same quarter of 2009. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of 39 cents per share on revenue of $2.07 billion.

At its last earnings call in February, the company said that it continues to seek expansion opportunities in the United States, Europe and Asia, with the first phase of its next Macau casino project slated to begin opening by the end of this year. Sands has three casinos in Macau and is working on two other resorts, but that construction work has been delayed, first by the financial crisis and more recently by government restrictions on immigrant labor.

The company has benefited from continuing growth in Asia and signs of life in Las Vegas. The company generates over 75% of its earnings from holdings outside of the United States with operations in Macau and Singapore garnering most of the attention. With Macau revenues still surging, gaming companies with presence in the region continue to receive the thumbs up from the investor community. Meanwhile, more positive data in the US, including improved optimism in the gambling hotbed of Nevada, has sent stocks for casino companies with larger America presences up. Gross revenues from gaming and gambling activities in Macau totalled 58.521 billion patacas (US$7.315 billion) in the first quarter of this year, representing a year on year rise of 42.9 percent, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (GICB) said recently.

During the quarter in review, the company received a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission requesting the company provide compliance documents related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Las Vegas Sands is also the subject of an investigation by the Department of Justice.

Full Disclosure: None.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS): Q4 Earnings Preview 2010

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter earnings after the closing bell on Thursday, February 3, 2011. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report earnings of 39 cents per share on revenue of $2.07 billion. In the year ago period, the company reported earnings of 3 cents per share on revenue of $1.28 billion.

Las Vegas Sands Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops multi-use integrated resorts worldwide.  The Company is also creating a master-planned development of integrated resort properties, anchored by The Venetian Macao. 

In the preceding third quarter, the Las Vegas, Nevada-based company's net income was $168 million, or 21 cents a share, compared to a loss of $123 million, or 19 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 34 cents a share in the latest quarter. Revenue surged 67% to $1.91 billion from $1.14 billion in the same quarter last year.  Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of 23 cents per share on revenue of $1.79 billion.

At its last earnings call in October,  founder and Chief Executive Officer Sheldon Adelson said that companywide Ebitda will be “substantially in excess” of the $3 billion. Singapore Ebitda alone may be as high as $2 billion in 2012, he said.  The company may open all of the retail areas planned in Singapore by the end of 2011, Chief Operating Officer Mike Leven said on the call.

The company has benefited from continuing growth in Asia and signs of life in Las Vegas. The company generates over 75% of its earnings from holdings outside of the United States with operations in Macau and Singapore garnering most of the attention. With Macau revenues still surging, gaming companies with presence in the region continue to receive the thumbs up from the investor community. Meanwhile, more positive data in the US, including improved optimism in the gambling hotbed of Nevada, has sent stocks for casino companies with larger America presences up. Macau's gambling revenue in December surged 66% from a year earlier, capping a year in which the territory's revenue from casino gambling soared 58%, well above forecasts made by analysts and officials earlier in 2010. Gambling revenue in December totaled MOP18.88 billion (US$2.36 billion), up sharply from MOP11.35 billion a year earlier, according to data from Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.

Recently, Sands China Ltd., a majority-owned subsidiary of resorts & casinos operator Las Vegas Sands Corp., said that it received a letter from the Macau Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau which its Macau counsel advises should clear the way for the company to start preparing for the sale of shares in co-op fashion to prospective buyers interested in having a Four Seasons-branded apartment at the Cotai Strip in Macau.

Full Disclosure: None.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS): Q1 Earnings Preview

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) is scheduled to release its first-quarter earnings after the market close on Thursday, May 6 2010. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report earnings of 2 per share on revenue of $1.3 billion. In the year ago period, the company reported earnings of 1 cents per share on revenue of $1.08 billion.

Las Vegas Sands Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops multi-use integrated resorts worldwide. It owns and operates The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, The Palazzo Resort Hotel Casino, and The Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada; and the Sands Macao, The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, and the Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip in Macau, the People’s Republic of China. The company is also developing Marina Bay Sands, an integrated resort in Singapore; and Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, an integrated resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

In the preceding fourth quarter, the Las Vegas, Nevada-based company recorded a narrower loss of $113.91 million, or 17 cents per share, from $136.53 million, or 27 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. Adjusted net income totaled $20.91 million, or 3 cents per share, compared to adjusted net loss of $17.80 million, or 4 cents per share, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue rose 17.5% to $1.28 billion from $1.09 billion in the year-ago quarter. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of 3 cents per share on revenue of $1.23 billion.

The company opened the first phase of its Singapore casino on April 27, earlier than expected; bringing into play a project CEO Sheldon Adelson says will generate $1 billion in annual profits. The $5.5 billion Marina Bay Sands casino will start operating along with 963 hotel rooms, part of the shopping mall and convention center, and several dining outlets. The Marina Bay Sands occupies a waterfront site at the edge of Singapore's central business district, and was the more fiercely contested license when Singapore gave the green light to casinos in 2005 in a bid to attract more tourists.

Singapore opening date comes at a time when most Las Vegas casino operators are struggling amid falling room rates. Moreover, there are concerns that MGM's CityCenter, which opened late last year, will add to an overall room glut in Las Vegas. Las Vegas Sands said the Singapore casino's official opening is scheduled for June 23 when the firm expects to open more retail and dining outlets along with the nightlife offerings.

Inspired by Macau’s emergence as the Las Vegas of the Far East, Singapore is working hard turn to portray itself as an Asian playground for the rich. The country, which legalized casino gambling in 2005, sees casinos as an important part of a broader effort to promote itself as a getaway for tourists. The city-state is aiming to increase the number of annual visitors from 9.7 million last year to 17 million by 2015.

LVS has huge ambitions for the development, which is one of the world’s most impressive gaming facilities in a rapidly-growing market. It is likely to benefit from an explosive growth in visitor arrivals in the Asian city-state. According to Singapore Tourism Board, visitor arrivals to Singapore may rise by as much as 30 percent this year, helped by an economic recovery in Asia. In February, visitor arrivals in Singapore rose 24 percent from a year earlier to reach 857,000, the highest ever for the month. This makes it the third month in a row Singapore has seen record visitor arrivals, an indication that the tourism industry is in better shape than ever. Hotel occupancy rose 4.9 percentage points from a year ago to 79.7 percent. The number of "visitor days" -- the overall visitor arrivals times an average length of stay for each visitor -- grew 16.3 percent in February from a year earlier to 3.3 million days.

Macau,another Asian casino hub, is yet another bright spot. Macau's gross gambling revenue hit a record in April, jumping 70% from a year earlier to more than MOP14.1 billion, Portuguese news agency Lusa reported.

Meanwhile, there are also signs of improvement in Las Vegas market, though it's still too early to determine whether it will lead to a full blown recovery. Las Vegas Strip gambling revenue jumped 33 percent to $568 million from $427.4 million in February from a year earlier as baccarat play by Chinese New Year’s revelers boosted winnings.

In terms of stock performance, LVS shares have gained nearly 170 percent over the past year.

Full Disclosure: None.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) Looks Ready to Pop

Stocks are rarely bargains when a company is prosperous and everyone loves it. Bargains are most often found under a cloud. However one needs to be cautious while picking stocks. Though plenty of stocks look cheap right now, not all of them are bargains. The real bargain is when a stock price is low relative to the future growth of the business. If business is fueled by irreversible global forces - that makes it a great investment.

Las Vega Sands requires little introduction. The company is all set to open the first phase of its Singapore casino on April 27, earlier than expected; bringing into play a project CEO Sheldon Adelson says will generate $1 billion in annual profits. The $5.5 billion Marina Bay Sands casino will start operating along with 963 hotel rooms, part of the shopping mall and convention center, and several dining outlets. The Marina Bay Sands occupies a waterfront site at the edge of Singapore's central business district, and was the more fiercely contested license when Singapore gave the green light to casinos in 2005 in a bid to attract more tourists.

Singapore opening date comes at a time when most Las Vegas casino operators are struggling amid falling room rates. Moreover, there are concerns that MGM's CityCenter, which opened late last year, will add to an overall room glut in Las Vegas. Las Vegas Sands said the Singapore casino's official opening is scheduled for June 23 when the firm expects to open more retail and dining outlets along with the nightlife offerings.

Inspired by Macau’s emergence as the Las Vegas of the Far East, Singapore is working hard turn to portray itself as an Asian playground for the rich. The country, which legalized casino gambling in 2005, sees casinos as an important part of a broader effort to promote itself as a getaway for tourists. The city-state is aiming to increase the number of annual visitors from 9.7 million last year to 17 million by 2015.

LVS has huge ambitions for the development, which is one of the world’s most impressive gaming facilities in a rapidly-growing market. It is likely to benefit from an explosive growth in visitor arrivals in the Asian city-state. According to Singapore Tourism Board, visitor arrivals to Singapore may rise by as much as 30 percent this year, helped by an economic recovery in Asia. In February, visitor arrivals in Singapore rose 24 percent from a year earlier to reach 857,000, the highest ever for the month. This makes it the third month in a row Singapore has seen record visitor arrivals, an indication that the tourism industry is in better shape than ever. Hotel occupancy rose 4.9 percentage points from a year ago to 79.7 percent. The number of "visitor days" -- the overall visitor arrivals times an average length of stay for each visitor -- grew 16.3 percent in February from a year earlier to 3.3 million days.

Meanwhile, the company has been doing well in Macau-another Asian casino hub. Gambling revenue in Macau rose about 70% in February from a year earlier to 13.4 billion patacas ($1.68 billion), according to reports citing the Portuguese-language media group Lusa News Agency. Last year, gross revenue at Macau's casinos jumped 10 percent to a record of more than 119 billion patacas ($14.9 billion) in 2009, government data.

There are also signs of improvement in Las Vegas market, though it's still too early to determine whether it will lead to a full blown recovery. Las Vegas visitor volume climbed 4 percent in January, the fifth straight year-over-year monthly increase in tourism numbers. Still, while bookings have gone up, prices have fallen substantially than they were couple of years back.

LVS stock has been steadily recovering. Shares of LVS are currently trading for $21.21 a share, and are up almost 39% so far this year. The technicals look great for the stock. As far as sentiment on the Wall Street is concerned, eleven of the 18 analysts covering the company have it rated as a Strong Buy. Of the remaining seven analysts, five are at Hold, and two rate it at Moderate Sell.

Full Disclosure: None.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS): Q4 Earnings Preview 2009

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) is scheduled to release its fiscal fourth-quarter 2009 financial results after the market close on Wednesday, February 17, 2010. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report earnings of 3 cents a share on revenue of $1.23 billion. In the year ago period, the company posted a loss of 4 cents per share on revenue of $1.09 billion.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. and its subsidiaries develop multi-use integrated resorts worldwide. It owns and operates The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, The Palazzo Resort Hotel Casino, and The Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada; and the Sands Macao, The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, and the Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip in Macao, the People's Republic of China. The company is also developing Marina Bay Sands, an integrated resort in Singapore; and Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, an integrated resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The company's Singapore project is expected to open in April 2010.

Like many gaming companies, the firm's casino operations has been hit hard by the recession, due to lower traffic, shorter stay and decreased spending by the visitors.In the preceding third quarter, the The Las Vegas, Nevada-based company reported a wider net loss of $123.0 million or $0.19 per share, compared to $32.2 million or $0.09 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company's adjusted net income increased to $20.1 million or $0.03 per share from $8.1 million or $0.02 per share in the third quarter of 2008. Revenue rose 3.2% to $1.14 billion from $1.11 billion in the prior-year quarter. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report a loss of $0.01 per share on revenue of $1.17 billion for the third quarter.

However, the financial outlook for Las Vegas Sands Corp. has improved amid a rebound in consumer spending and global economic revovery.

Recently, Nevada’s Gaming Control Board said that the Las Vegas Strip gambling revenue rose 5.9 percent in December, the second straight monthly gain. Strip proceeds climbed to $502.2 million in December from a year earlier.

The outlook for Macau is Sands' bright spot. Sand is poised to benefit from more friendly gaming policies from the local government, limited supply of new gaming tables in the near term, and expectation of no further stringent enforcement by the Chinese government over tourist visitations to the enclave support stable growth for the sector's revenues.According to Portuguese news agency Lusa, casino revenue in Macau jumped almost 65 percent to a monthly record of 14 billion patacas ($1.75 billion) in January from a year ago, beating the 12.6 billion patacas recorded for October 2009. A new daily record of more than 800 million patacas was also reached in January, Lusa said, citing data from the casino operators. Sands China holds the second largest market share in Macau and completion of the 6,000 room Cotai Strip project is expected to help create the “critical mass” needed to attract business conventions and tourists.

The casino operator has taken several steps to improve its liquidity and strengthen balance sheet. In the fourth quarter, Sands converted $600 million of exchangable bonds into equity, repaid off $500 million in debt for its Macau subsidiary. It also secured project financing commitments of $1.75 billion, which will be used to complete the first two phases of construction of the company's largest integrated resort on the Cotai Strip in Macau - featuring a combined 6,000 rooms and suites from the Shangri-La, Traders, and Sheraton hotel brands. Overall, it raised about US$5 billion of combined debt and equity financing from its fund-raising activities, which include the initial public offering of Sands China Ltd.

Sands successfully launched a Hong Kong IPO in the fourth quarter of 2009, through Sands China. 2010 is forecasted to be an iconic year for Sands, as they prepare to launch Marina Bay Sands Casino in Singapore in the second quarter of 2010. With the establishment in Singapore, LVS will experience a first-mover advantage in the sense that gambling was previously banned and that there are no other foreign competitors. It is worth mentioning that Singapore also has a higher GDP per capita than the United States, which would imply relatively high discretionary income. Asia is poised for massive growth and Sands is well positioned to benefit from it.

The company's stock currently trades at a forward P/E (fye 31-Dec-10) of 57.97 and PEG Ratio (5 yr expected) of 2.45. In terms of stock performance, Sands shares have gained 383 percent over the past year.

Full Disclosure: None.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS): Third Quarter Earnings Preview 2009

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) is scheduled to release its third quarter earnings before the market open on Thursday, October 29, 2009. Analysts, on average, currently expect the company to report a net loss of 1 cent a share on revenue of $1.17 billion. In the year ago quarter, the company reported s net loss of 9 cents per share on revenue of $1.11 billion.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. and its subsidiaries develop multi-use integrated resorts worldwide. It owns and operates The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, The Palazzo Resort Hotel Casino, and The Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada; and the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem in Eastern Pennsylvania. The company also owns and operates The Venetian Macao Resort-Hotel and the Sands Macao in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau.

The company has been hit hard by economic recession as cash strapped stayed away from casinos and slashed travel spending. Early in August, the Las Vegas, Nevada-based company reported a GAAP net loss attributable to common shareholders for the second quarter of $222.2 million or $0.34 per share, compared to a GAAP net loss attributable to common shareholders of $8.8 million or $0.02 per share for the year-ago quarter. Excluding items, adjusted net income for the second quarter was $8.8 million or $0.01 per share, compared to $30.9 million or $0.09 per share in the prior year quarter. Quarterly revenue slipped 4.8% to $1.06 billion from $1.11 billion in the same quarter last year. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report a loss of $0.01 per share on revenue of $1.08 billion for the second quarter.

Casino revenue for the quarter dropped to $798.05 million from $804.27 million a year ago, while rooms’ revenue dropped to $161.97 million from $195.69 million last year.

Net revenue from the company's Las Vegas operations fell 16.5% to $291.0 million in the second quarter from $348.4 million in the second quarter of last year. Casino revenue declined 5.8% to $119.1 million from $126.5 million last year, while rooms’ revenue dropped 20.8% to $112.8 million from $142.4 million a year earlier. Occupancy, average daily rate and revenue per available room were all down at both The Venetian Las Vegas and The Palazzo. Net revenue from Venetian Macao operations fell 10.2% to $443.2 million, while that from Sands Macao declined 12.7% to $234.2 million.

The company has been crippled by massive debt which even forced it to stall a project in rapidly growing gambling market of Macau. However, in recent times the company has focused its efforts to strengthen its balance sheet, cut costs, boost its capital position, reduce its more than $10 billion in debt and restart work on its hotel and casino complex on Macau's Cotai Strip. Early in September, the company secured commitments for up to $600 million of capital through the sale of exchangeable bonds. Similarly, in August, Las Vegas Sands Corp. announced the completion of an amendment to its $3.3 Billion Macau Credit Facility. Las Vegas also plans to launch an initial public offering of its Macau business in Hong Kong next month to raise somewhere between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. However, according to media reports, the IPO may face pressure amid nervousness about Macau's highly regulated gambling market and fickleness from China.

Early this month, Macau government said it is reviewing the gambling industry and may restrict the number of gaming tables and propose other measures to curb growth in the sector. Among changes being considered in the Chinese gambling capital are a scaling back of its 4,390 gambling tables and raising the entry-age requirement on casinos to 21 from 18. Beijing tightly controls travel to Macau, the only place in China where casino gambling is allowed. Few analysts are of the opinion that the move will actually boost the outlook for casinos in Macau gambling market by limiting oversupply.

Macau's casino gambling revenue rose 22.3% to a record high in the third quarter, according to the city's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. The surge in third quarter revenue is being attributed to a temporary easing of visa restrictions for residents of Macau's neighboring Guangdong province. However, visa restrictions have recently been tightened again. Though the third quarter revenue figures are encouraging and may have helped Macau's gaming revenue results, the fresh Chinese curbs on travel might dampen further growth in the world's fastest-growing gambling market.

Despite economic and financial difficulties, the company has not halted its aggressive expansion plans. The casino company expects to open its $5.4 billion Marina Bay Sands gaming resort in Singapore in the first half of 2010.

In terms of stock performance, Las Vegas shares are up almost 126% since the beginning of the year. Shares of the company fell 45 cents or 2.73% to close at $16.06 on Monday.

Disclosure: Author doesn’t own any of the stocks discussed here.