Las Vegas Sands has reemphasised its commitment to constructing an integrated resort in the Osaka region of Japan in its latest financial report, backing up comments made by George Tanasijevich, LVS managing director of global development.
LVS is said to have switched attention to Osaka in the midst of uncertainty surrounding IR possibilities across both Tokyo and Yokohama, with the region’s optimistic hopes of seeing a complex in operation by the time it plays host to the 2025 World Expo increasingly deemed to be unachievable.
Speaking as the firm recorded a less than one per cent second quarter revenue boost to $3.33bn, nudging its figure for the first half of the year to $6.98bn, 1.4 per cent up from $6.88bn, Sheldon Adelson, chairman and chief executive officer, stated the firm is “aggressively pursuing” Japan as a prospect for additional development.
Addressing this, as well as further opportunities across the wider Asian continent, including current developments being undertaken, Adelson explained: “We delivered solid financial results in the quarter, with hold-normalised adjusted property EBITDA reaching nearly $1.3bn.
“We remain enthusiastic about our future growth opportunities in Asia, which will be enhanced through the introduction of our Four Seasons Tower Suites Macao later this year, the Londoner Macao throughout 2020 and 2021 and the expansion of Marina Bay Sands in Singapore thereafter.
“We are also aggressively pursuing additional development opportunities in new markets, including in Osaka, Japan. Finally, we remain deeply committed to maintaining our industry-leading financial strength while continuing to return capital to shareholders.”
Revenue from LVS’ Macau operations for Q2 and H1 increased marginally to $2.14bn and $4.18bn respectively, while its Las Vegas operations saw 15.9 per cent and 6.6 per cent increases to reach $466m (2018: $402m) and £937m (2018: $879m).
This offset declines at the organisation Singapore based Marina Bay Sands, with second quarter figures dropping 2.4 per cent from $705m to $688m which brought its report for the first half of the year to $1.45bn, a 7.7 per cent dip from $1.57bn.
Operating income for the quarter increased 12.2 per cent to $894m, with net income, boosted by a gain of $556m related to the sale of Sands Bethlehem, increasing 63.9 per cent to $1.11bn.