Londoner Macau casino closure and renovation impacts Sands China's Q2 EBITDA

The Londoner Macau's casino will remain closed until at least December due to significant renovations, as revealed during Las Vegas Sands (LVS) recent second-quarter earnings call.

The property has been undergoing a $1 billion upgrade since May, with completion targeted for the first half of 2025.

The ongoing renovations have already impacted Sands' financial performance, with a notable decline in EBITDA compared to earlier this year, Macau Business reported. Sands China, the local subsidiary, reported an adjusted property EBITDA of $561 million for the second quarter, reflecting a 3.7% increase year-on-year but an 8% decline from the previous quarter.

“When adjusted for lower-than-expected hold in the rolling segment, our EBITDA margin for the Macau portfolio of properties would have been 32.1 per cent or down 80 basis points when compared to the second quarter of 2023,” said Patrick Dumont, president and chief operating officer of LVS, as per the report.

“Our margins at Londoner were directly impacted by the disruption of the Londoner Grand renovation. We closed the casino at 1,500 keys out during the quarter,” he added.

Analysts from JP Morgan, including DS Kim, Mufan Shi, and Selina Li, noted that these results were 3-4% below market expectations.

“We can’t say this was unexpected given a 15 per cent stock pull-back last 3 months (vs. flat HSI), but it’s also hard not to be disappointed as the disruption will edge up further to peak in 3Q,” the analysts were reported as saying in the report.

The changes at the Londoner Macao include the rebranding of the Sheraton Grand Macao to Londoner Grand. As part of the rebranding, number of rooms at the property will be reduced from 3,968 to 2,405, while increasing the number of suites from 360 to 1,500. The Sheraton Macao, part of the Londoner Macao integrated resort, opened in 2012 as Sands Cotai Central and was the world's largest Sheraton hotel.

LVS chairman and CEO Robert Glen Goldstein announced that after the Londoner Macao's renovations, the Venetian Macao will also undergo room renovations next year.