Sands China Ltd announced Friday a final dividend payout of HK$0.50 for FY25, double the HK$0.25 it approved for FY24 despite seeing both Adjusted EBITDA and profit decline year-on-year due to higher sales, marketing and payroll expenses. The HK$0.50 final dividend represents a payout of HK$4.05 billion (US$518 million).
In a filing, Sands China revealed that total net revenues in 2025 had climbed by 5.1% year-on-year to HK$57.9 billion (US$7.44 billion), including a 4.4% increase in net casino revenues to US$5.58 billion due to higher table games and slot volumes at The Londoner Macao and improved rolling chip win percentage, partially offset by decreases in non-rolling chip win and slot hold percentages.
Room revenues grew by 10.2% to US$853 million and mall revenues by 5.7% to US$521 million.
However, profit for the group fell by 14.3% year-on-year to HK$6.97 billion (US$896 million) and Adjusted Property EBITDA by 0.7% to HK$18.0 billion (US$2.31 billion)
“While revenues and market share of gross gaming revenues increased, higher sales and marketing costs to attract patrons – along with increased payroll expenses in a competitive environment – resulted in the overall EBITDA decline,” the company explained.
In a research note following release of Sands China’s FY25 results, JP Morgan described the company’s decision to increase dividends as “attractive, particularly because Sands aims to raise – or at least maintain – the absolute DPS (dividend per share) every year, echoing the group’s nearly decade-long pre-COVID track record.
“The same policy applies to both Sands China and its parent Las Vegas Sands. That commitment offers robust downside protection to the yield across reasonable industry cycles and EBITDA volatility — except in extraordinary events like COVID-19, when both LVS and Sands China paused dividends.”
The investment bank added that it sees scope for Sands China to implement HK$0.25 incremental increases in dividends each year, from HK$1.00 across the past 12 months to HK$1.25 next year and HK$1.50 the year after.
However, “a full return to the pre-COVID DPS of HK$2.00 per annum would require an EBITDA run-rate of US$3.0 billion (estimated to reach US$2.5 billion in 2026), which sits outside our base case over the forecast horizon.”
