Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) has released its quarterly earnings report for the period ending December 31, 2015. The casino and resort operator announced that its net revenue for the fourth quarter of 2015 fell by 16.2% to $2.86 billion. That is down from $3.42 billion a year earlier and was lower than the $2.92 billion expected by Thomson/First Call.
The company showed that its consolidated adjusted property EBITDA of $1.05 billion was down even more than sales, down by some 21.9% in the fourth quarter. On a “hold-normalized basis” its adjusted property EBITDA was down a similar amount with revenues, down by 16.0% to $1.07 billion.
What analysts key off of is the adjusted net income figure, or non-GAAP figure. Las Vegas Sands had an adjusted earnings of $492.4 million, or $0.62 EPS. That compares to a Thomson First Call estimate of $0.65 EPS and is versus a year earlier report of $734.2 million or $0.92 EPS.
GAAP earnings decreased 31.3% to $702.0 million, compared to $1.02 billion in the fourth quarter of 2014. Las Vegas Sands attributed that drop due to softer results across its Macao property portfolio — and to a $90.1 million benefit in a comparison to the fourth quarter of 2014 relating to a property tax refund at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.
Net income on a GAAP basis attributable to Las Vegas Sands decreased 35.4% to $465.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2015 versus $721.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. Its diluted earnings per share in the fourth quarter fell by 34.4% to $0.59 EPS (versus $0.90 in the 2014 same period) — reflecting the decline in operating income and being partially offset by a $47.5 million decrease in net income attributable to non-controlling interests.
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Las Vegas Sands already has had a tough 2015 to 2016 transition. The Macao woes have persisted, and a slowing China is only making matters that much more difficult. Las Vegas Sands shares closed up 1.76% at $41.59 ahead of the report, but its shares were indicated marginally lower after this report. Its consensus analyst price target is now down closer to $48.95 and its 52-week range is $34.88 to $61.59.
Sheldon Adelson, Las Vegas Sands chairman and chief executive officer, said:
The operating environment in Macao remained challenging during the quarter; however, our focus on the higher margin mass and non-gaming segments and the geographic diversification of our cash flows allowed us to once again deliver in excess of one billion U.S. dollars of adjusted property EBITDA during the quarter. We remain sharply focused on the consistent execution of our global growth strategy, which leverages the power of our unique convention-based Integrated Resort business model.
Our convention-based Integrated Resort business model appeals to the broadest set of customers, generates the most diversified set of cash flows and delivers the industry’s highest revenue and profit from non-gaming segments, while bringing unsurpassed economic and diversification benefits to the regions in which we operate. We remain confident in our ability to both further extend our global leadership position and deliver strong growth in the future.
The prudent management of our cash flow, including the ability to increase the return of capital to shareholders while maintaining a strong balance sheet and ample liquidity to invest in future growth opportunities, remains a cornerstone of our strategy.
In Macao, notwithstanding an operating environment that remains challenging, we delivered $575.3 million in adjusted property EBITDA across our Macao property portfolio during the quarter, our strongest quarterly performance of the year. We remain confident that our market-leading Cotai Strip properties, which will be complemented in the future by The Parisian Macao, targeted to open in late 2016, will continue to provide the economic benefits of diversification to Macao, help attract greater numbers of business and leisure travelers, and provide an outstanding and diversified platform for growth in the years ahead.
At Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, we continue to attract visitors from across the region to Singapore, which enabled us to generate another record mass gaming win-per-day in local currency terms. While the impact of the stronger U.S. Dollar and low win percentage on rolling table games play each negatively impacted our reported financial results for the quarter, both gaming volumes and our non-gaming segments remain resilient. On a constant currency basis, hold-normalized adjusted property EBITDA, excluding the impact of a $90.1 million property tax refund received in the prior year, increased 11.8%.
At the Venetian, Palazzo and Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas, a 22.2% year-over-year increase in RevPAR to $220 drove a 24.9% increase in adjusted property EBITDA.
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