SINGAPORE - Riding on the back of a tourism recovery in Singapore, net revenue for Marina Bay Sands for the third quarter of this year jumped three-fold to US$756 million (S$1.08 billion) from US$249 million in the year-ago period.
Its adjusted property earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization also soared, by more than 22 times to hit US$343 million for the quarter, compared with just US$15 million a year ago.
The strong business recovery of the integrated resort helped lift the third-quarter results of parent Las Vegas Sands (LVS), as most of the group’s other properties saw declines in their net revenues.
Apart from MBS, LVS has five properties in Macau, including the iconic The Venetian Macao.
“While travel restrictions continued to impact our financial results this quarter, we were pleased to see further progress in Singapore’s recovery. We remain enthusiastic about the opportunity to welcome more guests back to our properties as greater volumes of visitors are able to travel to both Singapore and Macau,” said LVS chairman and chief executive Robert G. Goldstein.
Hotel occupancy for MBS also rose, to 96 per cent for the third quarter compared with 71.7 per cent a year ago. The revenue per available room also improved, from US$169 to US$494.
Net revenue for LVS rose nearly 18 per cent to US$1.01 billion, from US$857 million in the third quarter of last year. However, the group remained in the red, reporting a net loss from continuing operations of US$380 million for the quarter, down from US$594 million a year ago.
Macau’s stringent pandemic restrictions have largely remained in place for more than two years since the Covid-19 pandemic. Last month, the city’s Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng said it aims to open to mainland Chinese tour groups in November.
Meanwhile, Singapore has largely relaxed its Covid-19 restrictions and has removed the need for entry approvals, tests and quarantine for fully vaccinated travellers. Domestic rules have also been relaxed, with no cap on group sizes and masks to be worn only on public transport and selected areas, such as in hospitals.
The country saw about 2.2 million visitors in the third quarter this year, compared with just about 53,410 visitors in the same period last year.
