The gaming operator in Macau Sands China announced today a loss of US$1.58 billion (€1.45 billion) over the past year, 56.4% more than in 2021.
In a statement sent to the Hong Kong stock exchange, Sands China revealed a loss of 348 million dollars (319 million euros) in the last quarter of 2022.
The result is better than that recorded in the previous quarter (472 million dollars, or 432 million euros), but worse than in the same period of 2021 (245 million dollars, or 224 million euros).
Revenues also dropped significantly in the last quarter of 2022, with Sands China recording 439 million dollars (402 million euros), 31.7% less than in the same period of 2021.
In the statement, Sands China CEO Robert G. Goldstein admitted that “travel restrictions and declining visitors continued to affect” the operator’s performance.
In the last quarter, Macau received almost 900,000 visitors, 50.8% less than in the same period of 2021, due to border restrictions and the wave of covid-19 cases that hit mainland China, from where the overwhelming majority of visitors arrive. visitors.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, operators have accumulated unprecedented losses in Macau, which followed the Chinese policy of ‘zero covid’ until mid-December, with the imposition of quarantines, confinements and massive testing.
Still, Goldstein said in today’s statement that Sands China “remains confident of a robust recovery in travel and tourism spending” and considers Macau “an ideal market for further investment”.
Venetian Macau, a subsidiary of Sands, announced on December 17 that it will spend 30.2 billion patacas (3.6 billion euros), including 27.8 billion (3.2 billion euros) on non-game programs.
Betting on non-gambling elements was one of the demands of the Macau authorities for the renewal for 10 years of the licenses of the six concessionaires operating in the territory, which came into force on 1 January.
With the end of the “covid zero” policy, visitor volume reached 90,391 visitors on Tuesday, a new daily record since the start of 2020, but still almost half that of the equivalent period before the pandemic.
“Early indications are all positive as we see a significant improvement in visits to our properties, betting volume, retail sales and hotel occupancy,” said Goldstein.
The hotel occupancy rate, during the Lunar New Year holidays, between January 22nd and 25th, “reached 100%”, according to officials from the six operators, cited in a statement released on Wednesday by the Government.
In a question-and-answer session with investors, Goldstein revealed that Sands China has posted profits in the Lunar New Year period, after three consecutive years of losses.
