Las Vegas Sands Corp. Reports Record Third Quarter 2005 Results
LAS VEGAS, NV, November 3, 2005. Las Vegas Sands Corp. today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2005.
Net revenue for the third quarter of 2005 was $437.6 million compared to $343.6 million in the third quarter of 2004. Adjusted net income for the third quarter of 2005 was $99.9 million or adjusted earnings per diluted share of $0.28 compared to adjusted net income of $68.0 million, or adjusted earnings per diluted share of $0.21 for the third quarter of 2004. (*) Adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per diluted share during the third quarter of 2005 exclude loss on disposal of assets, pre-opening expense, development expense, and interest expense related to a litigation settlement. Adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per diluted share during the third quarter of 2004 exclude loss on disposal of assets, pre-opening expense, development expense, non-recurring corporate expenses and loss on early retirement of debt, and include a pro-forma provision for income taxes calculated as if the company had been a tax-paying entity in 2004. On a GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) basis net income was $91.0 million or $0.26 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2005 compared to net loss of $85.9 million or loss per diluted share of $0.26 in the third quarter of 2004.
William P. Weidner, President and Chief Operating Officer, stated, "We are pleased to report solid third quarter financial results, particularly in Macao where we delivered record adjusted property EBITDAR of $90.1 million. We posted strong results at The Venetian, recording 8.6% growth in adjusted property EBITDAR, despite a substantial increase in high-end capacity on the Las Vegas Strip. At the same time, we continue to execute on a number of key strategic initiatives that will drive future growth in both markets.
Consolidated adjusted property EBITDAR in the third quarter of 2005 was $157.1 million, an increase of 21.7% when compared to $129.1 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating income during the third quarter of 2005 was $113.7 million compared to an operating loss of $48.4 million reported in the third quarter of 2004.
Venetian Casino Resort Third Quarter Operating Results
In the third quarter of 2005, table games drop increased 12.5% to $301.7 million versus $268.2 million during the third quarter of 2004, and slot machine handle (volume) was essentially flat at $515.8 million compared to $523.1 million in the third quarter of 2004. Casino revenues were $94.3 million in the third quarter of 2005 compared to $77.7 million during the prior year period, an increase of 21.4%. Table games win percentage (calculated before discounts) was 23.9% in the 2005 quarter compared to the 18.0% recorded in the third quarter of last year and as compared to the normal range of 20.0 to 21.0%.
The Venetian's average daily rate (ADR) was $203 during the third quarter of 2005 compared to $201 during the prior year's third quarter. The Venetian's occupancy of available guestrooms was 96.3% during the third quarter of 2005 compared to 97.2% during the prior year period, generating revenue per available room (REVPAR) of $195 during the third quarter of 2005 and in the third quarter of 2004. Hotel revenues were $71.8 million during the third quarter of 2005 compared to $71.5 million during the third quarter of 2004.
Food and beverage revenues were $21.0 million in the third quarter of 2005 compared to $20.9 million last year. Retail and other operating revenues were $10.0 million compared to $9.7 million during the third quarter of 2004.
In the third quarter of 2005, The Venetian reported third quarter adjusted property EBITDAR of $64.6 million compared to $59.5 million in the year-ago quarter, an increase of 8.6%. Operating income for The Venetian during the third quarter of 2005 was $45.9 million compared to $11.8 million reported in the third quarter of 2004. Third quarter results for 2004 were affected by significant non-recurring corporate expense.
"At The Venetian, our targeted capital investment plans are progressing well," said Weidner. "Two of our new entertainment venues opened in early October to strong customer response -- the popular Blue Man Group show and the Las Vegas incarnation of the New York City restaurant/night club, Tao. In addition, this week we added 300,000 square feet of carpeted meeting space to our Congress Center and expect to add another 150,000 square feet in January."
Sands Macao Third Quarter Operating Results
The Sands Macao reported record adjusted property EBITDAR of $90.1 million for the third quarter of 2005 compared to $69.2 million in the third quarter of 2004. Rolling Chip volume was approximately $3.2 billion in the third quarter of 2005, up from approximately $2.0 billion in the second quarter of 2005, an increase of 60.0%. We did not have a Rolling Chip program in the third quarter of 2004. Table games drop (the Non-Rolling Chip segment) was $1.021 billion in the third quarter of 2005, up from approximately $923.0 million in the second quarter of 2005, an increase of 8.3% and up from $972.3 million in the third quarter of 2004, an increase of 5.0%.
Rolling Chip table games win percentage (calculated before discounts and commissions) was 2.4% in the third quarter of 2005. Non-Rolling Chip table games win percentage (calculated before discounts and incentives) came in at 16.8% in the third quarter of 2005. These results should be compared to our expected Rolling Chip table games win percentage (calculated before discounts and commissions) of 2.5% to 2.8% and our expected Non-Rolling Chip table games win percentage of 16.5% to 17.5%.
Slot handle (volume) for the third quarter of 2005 was $190.4 million, up from $110.0 million in the third quarter of 2004, an increase of 73.1%. The increase in the 2005 period was largely the result of an increase in slot machines in use of 54.5% and an increase in win per unit per day of 5.3%.
Casino revenues were $240.1 million in the third quarter of 2005 compared to $162.5 million in the third quarter of 2004, an increase of 47.8%. Operating income was $82.2 million in the third quarter 2005, up from $63.3 million in the third quarter 2004, an increase of 29.9%. The increases in casino revenues versus prior reported quarters were primarily driven by the strength of our Rolling Chip table games business and the growth of our Non-Rolling Chip table games and slot businesses. The changes in adjusted property EBITDAR and operating income were also affected by the change in our mix of business between Rolling Chip and Non-Rolling Chip table games, with Rolling Chip table games expected to have lower margins due to higher marketing costs, and greater sensitivity to changes in win percentage.
Weidner stated, "We are pleased with our continued progress in the highly competitive Macao VIP market, as well as with the strong growth in the Non-Rolling Chip and slot businesses. In Macao, we recently broke ground on an expansion at the Sands, which will increase gaming capacity and allow us to focus on the lower betting limit mass market customers that we currently do not choose to serve. Phase I of this expansion is slated for completion in the first quarter of 2006 in time for Chinese New Year."
Sands Expo and Convention Center Operating Results
The Sands Expo and Convention Center generated $10.5 million of net revenues and $2.4 million of adjusted property EBITDAR for the third quarter 2005 compared to net revenues of $10.7 million and adjusted property EBITDAR of $0.5 million during the third quarter of 2004. Operating income was $1.5 million in the 2005 quarter versus $(0.8) million during the third quarter of 2004.
Other Factors Affecting Earnings
Interest expense, net of amounts capitalized, was $21.7 million for the third quarter of 2005, of which $15.8 million was related to the Venetian, $3.8 million was related to a litigation settlement and $2.1 million was related to the Sands Expo and Convention Center, as compared to net interest expense of $34.5 million during the third quarter of 2004. The year over year decline is the result of our strategic decision to retire $850.0 million of 11% Mortgage Notes, which were replaced with a combination of bonds bearing interest at a rate of 6.375% and lower cost bank debt during the first quarter of 2005. Interest expense also declined as a result of our redemption of $120.0 million of floating rate notes secured by assets at the Sands Macao casino during the second quarter of 2005. Capitalized interest was $6.4 million during the third quarter of 2005 compared to $0.4 million during the third quarter of 2004.
Depreciation and amortization expense was $22.5 million for the third quarter of 2005, compared to $19.3 million for the third quarter of 2004.
Development expense relating to our efforts in Macao, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Pennsylvania and other projects were $5.9 million in the third quarter of 2005 compared to $4.6 million in the third quarter of 2004.