Sands Keeps Macau Lead with Londoner, Regulatory Concerns Inflated, Say Analysts

October 26, 2021 Earnings & Filings Industry Updates

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) can retain its perch as Macau’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) leader, as the Londoner integrated resort ramps up, says a research firm. It adds that regulatory concerns pertaining to US operators in the world’s largest casino center are likely overblown.

In a new note to clients, Bernstein analysts say Sands currently controls 27 percent of GGR in the special administrative region (SAR) — a lead it can maintain or expand over the next several years, thanks in part to the $2 billion Londoner on the Cotai Strip. Previously known as Sands Cotai Central, Londoner is rolling out in various phases over the course of this year.

We forecast [Sands China] to deliver 103 percent of 2019 revenue in 2023 and 124 percent of 2019 revenue in 2025, driven by Macau recovery, the leading mass market share, and the redevelopment of the Londoner and the Grand Suites at Four Seasons,” said the Bernstein analysts.

Londoner is part of Sands’ effort to add approximately two million square feet of luxurious suite accommodations on the Cotai Strip. Las Vegas Sands, the parent company of Sands China, is the largest Macau operator, with five integrated resorts there.

With contributions from Londoner, LVS’s Macau GGR lead will be bolstered by dominance in the mass market — a segment in which the operator controls nearly a third of the share — and non-gaming offerings, including retail shops and meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE).