Las Vegas Sands Chairman and CEO Robert Goldstein says the company is targeting annualized EBITDA of US$2 billion at its iconic Singapore resort, Marina Bay Sands – far above the US$1.6 billion it achieved prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Goldstein spoke to his long-term expectations for LVS in Singapore during the company’s 3Q22 earnings call on Thursday morning (Asia time), insisting he doesn’t expect it will take much longer for MBS to match and exceed 2019 EBITDA levels of around US$1.6 billion. MBS recorded Adjusted Property EBITDA of US$343 million for the September quarter, up from US$319 million in Q2.
However, he also pointed out that LVS has far greater goals in the coming years with a target of reaching quarterly EBITDA of US$500 million once Asia’s COVID-19 recovery and ongoing MBS upgrade works are complete.
“I think Singapore is just beginning,” Goldstein said. “Singapore is going to grow, for a couple of reasons. The destination is more powerful than ever, our building is getting better than ever and when you see a rebound from China and the rest of Asia, US$1.6 billion [in annual EBITDA] will look very small.
“I think we can grow to US$2 billion in the next couple of years if we get it right and the market recovers.”
Goldstein said MBS’s 3Q results were particularly impressive given the impediments that remain standing in the way of full recovery. The property currently has 500 rooms out of commission due to an ongoing US$1 billion upgrade project, while airlift into Singapore reached only 55% of 2019 levels for the quarter.
“That 55% number isn’t good – we need Singapore to be full on,” Goldstein said. “We need two things to happen – our renovation to be complete [which will happen in] late 2022 the balance of tourism into Singapore returning, which should be complete by Q2 [in 2023]. That leaves the one variable we can’t predict – China. When all that happens, we think we can get a very fat return. Our goal is to get to US$2 billion and we don’t think that will be difficult when we are full.”
LVS said there was no immediate update to the company’s timetable for starting development of its US$3.3 billion MBS expansion project, which will see a fourth hotel tower added, but the current recovery trajectory remains positive.
The Q3 results included US$6.8 billion in rolling chip volume, equal to 94% of 2019 levels, while non-rolling table win of US$234 million was 92% of 2019 levels and slot win of US$190 million at 124% of those pre-COVID levels.
Looking ahead, Goldstein said, “We think rolling tables will probably get to a whole new level, demand for non-rolling tables is on its way to recovery and that’s where you look at China and the rest of Asia coming back.
The US$343 million [EBITDA in Q3] is very nice number, a good print in lieu of what’s happened in that market, but I think the best days of Singapore will be in the next few years as we keep growing.”
