Macau continues to be a boon for Las Vegas Sands (LVS -0.36%), as shown by today's first-quarter results. Quarterly revenue was up 21.4% to $4.01 billion and adjusted property EBITDA increased 26.8% to $1.48 billion. Net income was 35.7% higher than a year ago at $776.2 million, or $0.95 per share.
Sands Cotai Central continues to be a driver of growth with EBITDA more than doubling from a year ago to $265.2 million. But that continues to pull from Sands Macau on the Macau Peninsula, which had just a 1.2% increase in revenue and a 5.4% drop in EBITDA.
In Singapore, results continue to be mixed with EBITDA up on a stronger than normal win percentage but a 29% drop in VIP play and a 3% drop in mass-market play. Singapore is still a highly profitable resort but it hasn't been a growth driver in the way Macau has been.
Las Vegas Sands continues to be a leader in Macau and a beneficiary of continued increased traffic on Cotai, where it has a dominant presence. That will continue to be the case as Macau grows and the company's revenue will outpace Macau as a whole.
