Sands China shares rise on clearance for 200 more gaming tables
Macau casino operator cleared to add 200 tables, sparking 1.6 per cent rise in share price
Sands China shares rose 1.6 per cent yesterday after the casino operator said it had received government approval for 200 more gaming tables.
Some of the new gaming tables would be added before the Lunar New Year holiday, which starts on February 10, Sands China chief executive Edward Tracy said.
The Macau arm of gaming mogul Sheldon Adelson's Las Vegas Sands is the second-largest player in the world's No 1 gaming hub, with a market share by revenue of 19 per cent, after Stanley Ho Hung-sun's SJM, which has 27 per cent of the pie, Deutsche Bank estimated in a research note issued earlier this month.
Aaron Fischer, the head of consumer and gaming research at CLSA, said the government had been expected to issue more tables to Sands given the significant investment made in the Sands Cotai Central property.
"We estimate 200 tables can generate US$500 million [a year] in revenue and US$200 million in ebitda [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation], assuming a net win per table per day of US$7,000 and an ebitda margin of 40 per cent," Fischer said.
