04/25/12 06:11 PM EDT

LVS 1Q 2012 CONF CALL NOTES

Huge EBITDA quarter that got over $100MM boost from high hold

CONF CALL NOTES

There will be no additional concessionaires in Macau
On a daily basis they are always shuffling around their gaming tables in Macau to improve table yields
The government committed to give them 400 tables and gave them 200 additional tables so far
Spain: They are current planning to build a property over the course of 9 years. The first phase will cost $8-12BN. 25-35% of that will be equity. So the most that they will have to lay out is $4BN. They will no look at any investments where they don't think that they can make a cash on cash return. Equity goes into the first phase only and then phase 2 is financed with earnings from Ph1.
SCC: Only product opening in the next 3 years
Lot 3: can hold 3,600 rooms. They are applying to the government to build there.
Galaxy is going to announce a non-gaming hotel and exhibition center for Ph2

Q&A

Spain: They are the point where the Board of Directors will opine on a decision. Negotiations are continued with Barcelona and Madrid. Then there needs to be various legislation set once a location is picked. Thinks that the tax rate will be 'highly' favorable compared to other jurisdictions.
Junkets in Singapore?

Junkets reps in Singapore: Cannot share commissions with anyone else - so it takes away incentives to get players. Secondly, they can't give credit. In Singapore, they are really just international marketing representatives.
Their field representatives can bring in customers and get paid for bringing in customers
They don't see any value in the Junket model of Singapore since MBS already has 100 people that have a similar function working in house

Definitely helped in the quarter, but its hard to estimate seasonality since their operation is fairly new

Are these low 20's margin a good run rate? Retail operations decreased by $13MM sequentially so that impacted margins.
They did have bad mix on their RC vs. RevShare business and that cost them $10MM. Should have normalized profit of 4x of that in 1Q11.

Retail value of their assets is so great that they could pay off all of their debt
Unless there is a change to the way the regulations in Singapore are written, they don't see any reason to use the junkets there. Basically junkets are neutered by the law there.
They are lobbying the governments in Japan and S. Korea to get the legislation drafted and to get a piece of the action. There are elections in both countries this year. They are also looking at Vietnam and Taiwan. Most governments want to follow the Singapore model.
In Spain they will have committed financing before they put a shovel in the ground. They will not repeat what happened in the past. They are not dependant on the Asian player coming to Spain.
Sheldon has recused himself from voting on dividends
SCC what's open:

Will start renovations at the Venetian Macao. The new rooms that they are building are very nice.
3.05% is their 200 day moving average for Macao and Singapore VIP

Even so there was a huge hold benefit this quarter. We also wouldn't use a 200 day rolling average across 2 separate markets to calculate the "base" hold rate. We use each properties' historical VIP hold rate to adjust our numbers and calculate impact

Given the duopoly nature of Singapore, it almost guarantees them good YoY growth for many years to come

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE RELEASE

"We expect to realize additional benefits from our initiatives in the VIP segment in the future, as we roll out additional enhanced VIP facilities and service offerings throughout our property portfolio in Macao."
"As Singapore's complementary business and leisure tourism offerings and transportation infrastructure continue to expand, we are confident that Marina Bay Sands will continue to generate outstanding returns for our company."
In Las Vegas:

"Table games drop was up 27.8% during the quarter reflecting strong baccarat play."
"Stronger group meeting and convention business during the quarter drove a 4.9% increase in cash hotel ADR."

"The property's 300-room hotel tower opened on May 27, 2011, and contributed $1.9 million of room revenue during the quarter ended March 31, 2012. The hotel, together with the addition of the retail mall, the first phase of which opened in November 2011, and the events center, which will debut in May 2012, should contribute to future growth of both gaming and non-gaming offerings at the property."
"Company's retail malls at The Venetian Macao, the Four Seasons Macao and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore reached $71.1 million for the first quarter of 2012, an increase of 27.3% compared to the first quarter of 2011. Operating profit derived from these retail mall assets increased 25.2% for the quarter to reach $55.2 million."
"Pre-opening expenses, related primarily to Sands Cotai Central ...increased to $51.5MM"
"Capitalized interest was $22.1 million during the first quarter of 2012"
"Corporate expense increased to $49MM... primarily driven by higher legal fees."
The impairment loss of $42.9MM was million related to the closing of Zaia at Venetian Macao.
Balance Sheet items:

Unrestricted cash: $4.06BN
Restricted cash: $7.3MM
Debt: $9.9BN
Principal payments (mostly Singapore): $352MM in 2012 and $543MM in 2013
Redeemed all of 6.375% Senior Notes due 2015 at a total cash cost of $193.2 million in the Q

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