Macau casino operator Sands China Ltd reported net income of US$107 million for the three months to June 30, down 50.0 percent from US$214 million a year earlier.
On a United States-GAAP basis, total net revenues for Sands China fell 0.8 percent year-on-year to US$1.78 billion, according to second-quarter results published on Wednesday by the firm’s parent, U.S.-based Las Vegas Sands Corp.
Sands China’s adjusted property earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) stood at US$430 million for the April to June period, compared with US$566 million in the prior-year period. The group’s Macau adjusted property EBITDA margin declined to 24.0 percent from 31.5 percent a year earlier.
The announcement cited Patrick Dumont, chairman and chief executive of Las Vegas Sands, as saying that in Macau, ongoing investments in enhanced service and hospitality offerings “contributed to growth in volumes across all gaming segments compared with the prior-year period, although unusually low hold in rolling play negatively impacted” the group’s reported financial results for the quarter.
Among the Macau properties, The Londoner Macao generated the highest net revenue in the second quarter, at US$710 million, up from US$642 million a year earlier. The Venetian Macao reported revenue of US$591 million, down from US$663 million a year earlier.
The Parisian Macao posted revenue of US$218 million in the three months to June 30, compared with US$194 million in the prior-year period, while The Plaza Macao and Four Seasons Macao saw revenue fall to US$137 million from US$194 million. Sands Macao increased revenue to US$95 million from US$71 million a year ago.
Based on property-level data, Sands China’s aggregate Macau casino revenue was US$1.32 billion in the second quarter of 2026, compared with US$1.35 billion a year earlier.
“Our US$430 million in EBITDA for the quarter was negatively impacted by the exceptionally low VIP rolling hold of 1.35 percent for the quarter,” Mr Dumont acknowledged.
“If we had held as expected in our rolling play, our EBITDA would have been US$87 million higher or US$517 billion for the quarter,” he added.
At The Venetian Macao, rolling-chip volume in the three months to June 30 rose 19.7 percent year-on-year, but hold fell to 0.62 percent, compared with 3.57 percent a year earlier. Some of the properties, including the Parisian Macao, recoded negative hold for the reporting period.
Despite the lower gaming revenue, non-gaming segments at several properties showed resilience, particularly at The Londoner Macao.
Singapore, shareholder returns
Las Vegas Sands reported group-wide net income of US$373 million for the second quarter this year, down 28.1 percent year-on-year. Net revenue slipped 0.7 percent year-on-year, to US$3.15 billion, while consolidated adjusted property EBITDA declined 16.1 percent to nearly US$1.12 billion.
The group operates casinos in Macau via Sands China, and the Marina Bay Sands complex (pictured) in Singapore through its Marina Bay Sands Pte Ltd unit.
In Singapore, Marina Bay Sands generated net revenue of US$1.38 billion during the second quarter, broadly flat compared with US$1.39 billion a year earlier. Adjusted property EBITDA declined to US$689 million from US$768 million, with the property’s EBITDA margin easing to 49.9 percent from 55.3 percent.
JP Morgan Securities LLC said in a memo after the Las Vegas Sands quarterly numbers, that Marina Bay Sands was “still the best casino in the world” in business terms.
Though the institution’s analysts Daniel Politzer, Samuel Nielsen, and Michael Hirsh also noted: “Singapore was not immune to the soft June/[FIFA] World Cup impact observed in a number of other global gaming markets”.
They added: “It’s also worth noting that a by-product of MBS’ premiumisation is a lot more GGR volatility, as evidenced by rolling chips -48 percent quarter-on-quarter from first-quarter’s US$18 billion.
“Another result of the property premiumisation is still-increasing operating expenditure: hold-adjusted revenues were +3 percent year-on-year, but EBITDA margins fell 450 basis points year-on-year to 49.0 percent,” the JP Morgan team also observed.
Las Vegas Sands had reported casino revenue at Marina Bay Sands declining 4.1 percent year-on-year, to US$1.02 billion. Rolling-chip hold stood at 4.74 percent, compared with 5.26 percent in the second quarter of 2025.
Mr Dumont said group-wide performance in the second quarter was achieved “despite the seasonally softer tourism demand… in both Singapore and Macau”.
“There’s another factor to note, there was a decrease in visitation to both Marina Bay Sands and our Macau properties by our high-value patrons during the [FIFA] World Cup football tournament,” the CEO noted.
“It was very noticeable in June, given the trajectory of the businesses in both markets earlier in the quarter,” Mr Dumont added.
Las Vegas Sands repurchased US$787 million of its own shares during the second quarter and paid a quarterly dividend of US$0.30 per share. The next quarterly dividend of US$0.30 per share will be paid on August 12.
The company said its board had subsequently increased its share repurchase authorisation to US$6.0 billion, extending it through July 2029.
Capital expenditure during the second quarter totalled US$332 million, including US$86 million in Macau and US$215 million at Marina Bay Sands, where the company continues work on its multi-billion-dollar expansion project.
(Updated 1.40pm, July 23)
