The logic of Las Vegas Sands Corp.’s decision to mothball its Macau projects and press ahead with its integrated resort Marina Bay Sands in Singapore became clear at a recent investor conference in the US.
LVS President and COO William Weidner pointed out that with Singapore’s lower gaming tax burden (10 percent of the gross on mass market play and 20 percent on VIP play, as opposed to an effective 40 percent across the board in Macau) the net earnings generated on projected revenue of USD2 billion in Singapore would amount to USD940 million, compared to only USD504 million from the equivalent gross in Macau.
Mr Weidner added Las Vegas Sands Corp.’s revised business plan envisages the company can complete its Marina Bay Sands project in Singapore with cash to spare, says The Business Times Singapore.
LVS says it needs USD4 billion to complete its Marina Bay site and that it currently has USD6.2 billion in borrowings and liquidity, including income raised or expected from monetisation of non-core assets.
“There is cash available to open Singapore [Marina Bay Sands] in the first quarter of 2010,” Mr Weidner told the investor conference in the US.
He revealed that LVS expects to cut USD100 million in costs globally in 2009 by reducing expenses, labour, head count and benefits “everywhere that doesn’t affect the customer experience”.
Mr Weidner projected that with its 2,600 rooms, and an average daily rate of USD269 per room by 2011, LVS hopes Marina Bay will achieve initial EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) of USD161 million. He also forecast rental revenue from its retail component at USD179 million.
Addressing the issue of debt, Mr Weidner was quoted as saying: “The debt that we have is extraordinarily valuable. No one can generate about USD9.8 billion of debt at a blended rate of about five percent in this environment.”
He said that the first maturity of this debt is May 2011 for a tranche of approximately USD800 million followed in May 2012 by about USD776 million.
RelatedPosts
