Las Vegas Sands Conference Call Highlights

Shares of Las Vegas Sands LVS are down about 0.4 percent following its second-quarter earnings release.

Below are some highlights and key takeaways from the company's conference call.

Growth:
• We delivered strong growth in revenue, cash flow, net income and earnings per share again this quarter
• Adjusted diluted earnings per share increasing 31 percent from the prior year's quarter to reach a second quarter record of $0.85 per share.
• We initiated bonus program in Macao this quarter that impacted our EBITDA by approximately $29 million
• We also meaningfully increased the return of capital to shareholders and our $0.85 earnings per share would have been $0.88.
• Macao adjusted property EBITDA grew by 22 percent to $801 million in quarter two.
• Had we not made the adjustment I mentioned previously, our Macao EBITDA would have been $830 million and the growth would have been.
• During the quarter, we again outpaced the market in terms of gaming revenue growth.
• Our gross gaming revenue was up 12 percent versus the market that was up 5 percent.
• Firstly, our mass table and slot revenues continue to grow ahead of the market.
• Secondly, during the period when VIP is experiencing the slowdown, our business mix is, clearly, more defensive.
• For the second quarter, our gaming revenue mix was 44 percent VIP.
• Clearly, the World Cup had a negative impact on overall GGR in June, and particularly in the VIP segment.
• So there was a 24 percent drop down during the World Cup four years ago and whereas the traditional May to June drop for intervening years was only 11 percent.
• We were impacted by low hold in the premium mass segment.
• We estimate that factor alone contributed about $32 million negative impact on our revenue for the quarter.
• If we adjusted for this mass hold, as well as the 14-month bonus, our Macao EBITDA would have been $850 million, not the $801 million that we reported.

Conclusion:

• Our database continues to grow rapidly; our revenue per room night remained stable.
• In addition of raising the LVS recurring dividend, we increased the Sands China Ltd. interim dividend for 2014 by 30 percent.
• This quarter through our stock repurchase program, leaving approximately $300 million remaining under our current LVS stock repurchase authorization.
• We look forward to continuing to utilize the stock repurchase program to return capital to shareholders and to enhance long-term shareholder returns.
• In conclusion, we are continuing to successfully execute our business plan and I'm more confident than ever about our future success.
• It's my job together with our outstanding management team to ensure we stay disciplined.