Sands Bethlehem posts records while Asia falls

Rick Smith / AP

In this file photo from Friday, May 22, 2009, patrons pass under the entrance marquis to the Sands Casino Bethlehem when it opened its doors to the public for the first time, in Bethlehem, Pa.

By Matt Assad, The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.), (TNS)

Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016 | 11:54 a.m.

Anyone studying Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s recent earnings report will see a long line of negative numbers reflecting falling profits — right up until they arrive at the balance sheet for the company's smallest casino in Bethlehem.

While the gambling giant's casinos in Macau caused its 2015 net income fall 31 percent to $2 billion, its casino in south Bethlehem posted a record year in which its net income increased 9 percent to $549 million, according to the company's fourth-quarter earnings report released last week.

Sands' numbers in Bethlehem were a bright spot in a difficult 2015 in which gambling restrictions in Macau -- a casino mecca with revenues four times that of Las Vegas -- helped drive the parent company's overall revenues down 20 percent to $11.7 billion. Much of the loss came in its Macau casinos, which saw a net revenue drop of 28 percent in 2015 to $6.86 billion.

The company earned $2.47 per share in 2015, compared to $3.52 a share a year earlier.

Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson pointed out that the company still made more than $1 billion in profit for the year, but falling revenues in Macau and Singapore meant the golden goose wasn't laying quite as many eggs.

"The operating environment in Macau remained challenging during the quarter; however," Adelson said, "... We remain sharply focused on the consistent execution of our global growth strategy, which leverages the power of our unique convention-based integrated resort business model."

Right now, one of the few Sands properties actually growing is in Bethlehem, where the numbers defy the trend. Its operating income -- or profit -- for the year was $108 million, bolstered by a fourth-quarter profit of $29 million.

Perhaps most encouraging is that its 302-room hotel carried an occupancy rate of 91.5 percent in 2015, up 8 percent from the previous year, while charging a property record of $151 a night.

"We remain confident in our ability to both further extend our global leadership position and deliver strong growth in the future," Adelson said.