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Updated Thursday, May 5, 2011 8:46 pm TWN, AP

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Las Vegas Sands Q1 profit lower than expected

LAS VEGAS--Casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. said Tuesday that it returned to a first-quarter profit, thanks to escalating revenue at its new resorts in Macau and Singapore.

But its adjusted earnings fell short of analysts' expectations, and its shares plunged in after-hours trading.

The company led by billionaire CEO Sheldon Adelson reported net income of US$228.2 million, compared with a loss of US$28.9 million a year earlier. It said its earnings amounted to 37 cents per share, excluding one-time items, but analysts were looking for 43 cents per share on average, according to FactSet.

Sands' revenue of US$2.11 billion, up more than 50 percent from a year earlier, squeaked past the US$2.1 billion analysts expected on average.

The company's shares fell US$4.96, or 11 percent, to US$40.91 after hours. They had ended regular trading down US$1.64, or 3.5 percent at US$45.87.

Adelson, who has remained optimistic about the company his family controls, even during much steeper stock dips in the past three years, said Sands is pleased with its results in China's gambling enclave of Macau and sees more potential there.

“We have the largest footprint in the largest gaming market in the world, and we are eager to take advantage of the significant organic growth opportunities in front of us,” Adelson told investors on a conference call.

Sands said its Macau revenue grew 22.6 percent to US$1.16 billion for the quarter. It saw revenue of US$584.9 million for the quarter in Singapore, where its Marina Bay Sands casino opened during last year's second quarter.

The company's revenue in Las Vegas was US$305.1 million, down almost 8 percent from a year earlier, and its casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where a 300-room hotel tower is expected to open this month, was US$91 million, up 35 percent. The casino at a former Bethlehem steel mill opened in May 2009.

Adelson blamed bad luck in Las Vegas and Singapore for drops there in the company's hold percentage — the ratio of how much it won to how much customers gambled.

Sands said it had US$3.13 billion in unrestricted cash, with another US$658.9 million allocated mostly toward construction in Macau. The Las Vegas-based company said its total debt was US$10.1 billion, with US$652.3 million due this year.

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