Las Vegas Sands Misses Estimates by a Mile

Shares of Las Vegas Sands

, the owner and operator of the Palazzo and Venetian resorts and casinos, plunged in Wednesday's after-hours session after the company reported second-quarter profit of 44 cents per share on revenue of $2.58 billion. That is well below the profit of 60 cents per share on revenue of $2.78 billion analysts expected. "While our quarterly results did not meet my expectations, and were impacted by lower hold on table games play compared to last year's second quarter, higher provisions for accounts receivable at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, and elevated legal expenses, our financial results reflected solid revenue growth overall and significant cash flow in both Macao and Singapore, as well as the continued steady execution of our Cotai Strip development plan in Macao," Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson said in a statement. In Macau, the world's largest gambling cent, Las Vegas Sands said EBITDA increased 9.6 percent to reach $429.0 million with an adjusted property EBITDA margin of 29.5 percent. The comapny's Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore "delivered a steady financial performance, including good growth in its hotel and retail segments, although lower rolling volume, low hold on rolling table games play and higher provisions for accounts receivable negatively impacted our results this quarter. Marina Bay Sands produced $330.4 million of adjusted property EBITDA during the quarter and an EBITDA margin of 47.6 percent," the company said. Shares of Las Vegas Sands are down four percent in after-hours trading. The stock has slipped nearly 16 percent this year.