Las Vegas Sands Corp. — FY2023 Form 10-K
Reporting period: Fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. The filing also reports fourth-quarter results. Las Vegas Sands operates integrated resorts in Macao and Singapore and owns 69.9% of Sands China Ltd. (SCL). Its former Las Vegas operations were sold in February 2022 and are reported as discontinued operations.
Financial results and liquidity
| Metric | FY2023 | FY2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Net revenue | $10.372 billion | $4.110 billion |
| Operating income (loss) | $2.313 billion | $(792) million |
| Net income (loss) from continuing operations | $1.431 billion | $(1.541) billion |
| Net income attributable to Las Vegas Sands | $1.221 billion | $1.832 billion |
| Adjusted property EBITDA | $4.085 billion | $732 million |
| Cash from continuing operating activities | $3.227 billion | $(944) million |
| Capital expenditures | $1.017 billion | $651 million |
| Cash and cash equivalents at year-end | $5.105 billion | $6.311 billion |
Revenue rose 152.4%, chiefly as travel restrictions eased and visitation recovered. Operating margin was approximately 22.3% of revenue, versus an operating loss in 2022. Adjusted property EBITDA margin was approximately 39.4%; this is a non-GAAP measure and excludes significant costs, including interest, taxes, capital spending and development expenses.
Casino revenue was $7.522 billion, rooms $1.204 billion, food and beverage $584 million, mall $767 million, and convention, retail and other $295 million. Macao generated $2.224 billion of adjusted property EBITDA and Marina Bay Sands generated $1.861 billion.
Fourth-quarter 2023 revenue was $2.915 billion, operating income $710 million, net income $469 million, and net income attributable to the Company $382 million. In fourth-quarter 2022, revenue was $1.117 billion and operating loss was $166 million.
At December 31, 2023, total debt was approximately $14.03 billion net of discounts and financing costs (contractual principal was $14.09 billion). Interest expense, net, was $818 million; cash interest paid was $753 million, and the weighted-average debt interest rate was 5.2%. Total equity was $4.104 billion. The Company reported $4.44 billion of available capacity under revolving facilities, net of letters of credit. A further $2.79 billion Singapore delayed-draw facility was available only after submission of the MBS expansion cost estimate and schedule to lenders.
Operating cash generation funded investment and debt reduction, while financing activities used $3.188 billion, including $2.069 billion of debt repayments, $505 million of share repurchases and $305 million of dividends. Cash declined by about $1.2 billion year over year. The Company resumed its quarterly dividend in August 2023; in January 2024 the Board declared $0.20 per share and said it expected to maintain that quarterly level through 2024, subject to reassessment.
Material changes versus FY2022
- Recovery in Macao and Singapore drove the sharp increase in revenue and operating results. Macao revenue increased $4.93 billion and Marina Bay Sands revenue increased $1.33 billion.
- FY2022 included a $2.861 billion after-tax gain on the sale of the Las Vegas operations, a major reason FY2022 attributable net income exceeded FY2023 despite FY2022 continuing-operations losses.
- Interest expense increased to $818 million from $702 million, primarily reflecting higher benchmark rates; higher interest income partly offset this increase.
- Debt declined from $15.98 billion to $14.03 billion, principally following repayment of $1.95 billion on the SCL revolving facility.
- Capital expenditures rose to $1.017 billion, including $584 million at Marina Bay Sands, mainly for hotel renovations. The Company also spent $241 million to acquire the Nassau Coliseum and related entities.
Outlook, projects and key risks
- Management said liquidity and operating cash flow should support ongoing operations, major construction projects, debt obligations, planned investment and dividend commitments. The filing provides no specific revenue or earnings guidance.
- Under Macao’s concession through December 2032, the Company is committed to invest at least 30.24 billion patacas (about $3.76 billion), including non-gaming projects. Because Macao market gaming revenue exceeded the concession threshold in 2023, an additional 5.56 billion patacas (about $691 million) of non-gaming investment is required by 2032.
- Phase II of The Londoner Macao is estimated to cost $1.2 billion and is expected to be substantially completed in early 2025.
- The MBS expansion’s stated minimum project cost was about SGD 4.5 billion, but management expects the total cost to materially exceed that amount due to inflation and higher labor and material costs. The project schedule and budget remain under review; the company said it did not expect to commence construction by the April 2024 deadline and was discussing an extension with Singapore’s government. Further delayed-draw financing is conditional on delivery of the estimate and schedule to lenders.
- MBS Tower 1 and 2 renovations were nearing completion at an estimated cost of about $1.0 billion; Tower 3 renovation and other changes were estimated at $750 million, with completion expected by 2025.
- The Nassau Coliseum acquisition was intended to support a proposed New York integrated resort, but a court annulled the new land lease in November 2023 and required further public and environmental review steps. Appeals were pending; the Company warned there is no assurance it can secure a favorable lease or obtain a casino license.
- Key exposures include reliance on two Asian markets, travel and discretionary-spending sensitivity, gaming regulation and concession renewal, competition, foreign exchange and interest rates, credit collection, construction cost and timing, and debt refinancing. Principal maturities are concentrated in 2024–2026; approximately $8.79 billion of principal is scheduled across those three years.
- A Marina Bay Sands loyalty-program data incident involving unauthorized access to certain membership data was disclosed; Singapore’s data protection regulator was investigating. The Company reported no cybersecurity incident that had materially affected or was reasonably likely to materially affect it as of the filing.
- Other notable matters include a substantial Macao litigation claim for which management could not estimate the probability or reasonably possible loss, and uncertainty over a new Macao shareholder dividend tax arrangement. The Macao gaming-profit corporate tax exemption was extended through 2027 after year-end.
Investor verification checklist
- Review quarterly trends in gaming volume and win/hold rates, particularly where win percentages moved differently from wagering volumes; gaming outcomes can fluctuate.
- Track actual project budgets, construction milestones, lender conditions and any Singapore-government extension for the MBS expansion.
- Assess near-term debt maturities, refinancing plans, interest-rate exposure, covenant headroom and restrictions on subsidiary distributions.
- Confirm the amount and timing of required Macao concession investment, including the additional $691 million non-gaming commitment, and monitor concession compliance.
- Follow the Nassau Coliseum lease proceedings and casino-license process, and evaluate any resulting impairment or additional funding exposure.
- Monitor the MBS data-incident investigation, the unresolved Macao claim and changes to tax arrangements or cross-border cash-transfer rules.