Sands China 1928

[winston]

Not vested

DJ MARKET TALK: Daiwa Raises Sands China Target 19.7% To HK$25.39
Jan 28, 2011

1348 [Dow Jones] STOCK CALL: Daiwa raises Sands China (1928.HK) target price to HK$25.39 from HK$21.22 after raising overall 2011-12 Macau gaming-revenue forecasts to increases of 33% and 29% on-year respectively from 21% on-year for both years.

The house keeps the stock at Buy, tipping it as a key winner of strong mass-market revenue growth from the opening of new integrated resorts and the Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity rail route due to its top-tier mass-market brand recognition and iconic Venetian Macau in Cotai.

Daiwa forecasts 2011 revenue to rise 27% on-year despite more competition from new integrated resorts. The actual sale of the Four Seasons serviced apartments and the granting of more labor permits will offer further share price catalysts, the house says; it estimates the sales could add HK$0.80/share to its valuation, but hasn't included this in the target price due to uncertain timing.

Source: Dow Jones Newswire

[winston]

Not vested

DJ MARKET TALK: Sands China Down 2.0% But UBS Keeps Buy Call

1050 [Dow Jones] Sands China (1928.HK) is down 2.0% at HK$18.60 after parent Las Vegas Sands (LVS) last week announced its 4Q10 Macau revenue rose 13% on year, which is lower than expected.

UBS says Sands China "has overall struggled with keeping pace with the VIP growth in the market," given its previous focus on direct VIP - this is particularly apparent at the Venetian and Plaza properties, although the house adds Sands Macao is the standout performer, with about 20% sequential growth in rolling chip volumes and the highest property EBITDA run rate and EBITDA margin since 2Q07.

UBS keeps Sands China at Buy with a HK$21.60 target, as it expects the period of maximizing margins is largely over, and "should give way to reinvesting in profitable growth."


Source: Dow Jones Newswire

[winston]

Not vested

DJ MARKET TALK: Buy Sands China On Pullbacks - Nomura

1329 [Dow Jones] STOCK CALL: Nomura analyst Charlene Liu advises investors Buy Sands China (1928.HK) on pullbacks after parent Las Vegas Sands' (LVS) 4Q results last week missed Wall Street's revenue expectations.

Sands China's share price has lagged the sector, notes Liu, but she believes the expected sale of the Four Seasons Apartments in 1Q11 (based on the house's estimate of HK$6,000 psf, the sale "will immediately unlock HK$0.60 per share value for the stock"), progress on hiring labor to complete a project known as sites 5&6 and market share gains as a result of management's pledge to bring in new junket representatives could drive shares up.

Nomura keeps Sands China rated at Buy and says its HK$20 target and estimates are under review with an upward bias. Shares are 2.3% lower at HK$18.54.

Source: Dow Jones Newswire

[winston]

Not vested

DJ MARKET TALK: Sands China Off 1.9%; UOB Tips Better Entry Point

1059 [Dow Jones] Sands China (1928.HK) is down 1.9% at HK$18.16, adding to its 2.4% fall yesterday due to a below-view 4Q10 operating performance.

Still, UOB KayHian says pullback by Sands China and fellow Macau plays "creates a better entry point," as it attributes Sand China's disappointing results "mostly to poor luck instead of change in the industry" and anticipates the Lunar New Year effect may give strong support to the February industry gross gaming revenue (GGR) figure.

"Sands China's poor results create a better entry point for investors who believe the Macau gaming sector could continue to deliver strong earnings growth supported by GGR growth (UOB currently estimates a 20% on-year industry growth in 2011) as well as margin improvement due to increasing operating leverage."


Source: Dow Jones Newswire

[winston]

Not vested

Valuation/Recommendationï‚·

Although we continue to see SC deliver a promising margin improvement trend, we believe labour shortage may exert some pressure on personnel costs in the future which could put pressure on margin in the future.

In addition, we foresee labour issues and P5/6 opening dates will continue to affect investor sentiment. Therefore, we maintain HOLD on SC, noting that the share price may show some re-rating if the company resolves concerns or the Four Seasons apartment sale materialises.

http://research.uobkayhian.com/research ... 818991.pdf

[winston]

Not vested

DJ MARKET TALK: Sands China Falls 7.9%; But Appears Overdone

1112 [Dow Jones] Sands China (1928.HK) falls 7.9% to HK$17.54 on elevated volume, in a knee-jerk reaction to news parent Las Vegas Sands (LVS) says it's being investigated by U.S. authorities over its compliance with anti-bribery laws in its Macau operations.

Sands said it believed the subpoena from the U.S. SEC stemmed from allegations in a wrongful-termination lawsuit filed in October by the former head of its Macau operations.

Company spokesman Ron Reese described the investigations as "fact-finding inquiries" and denied the allegations in the lawsuit. While the investigation is a negative, its impact on Sands China's operations is likely to be limited; Sterne Agee analyst David Bain says the chance the probes would hurt Sands' attempts to enter additional markets is "a fairly remote possibility."

The overhang overshadows Sand China reporting FY10 net profit more than tripled to US$666.45 million, beating the US$604.05 million forecast pegged by Thomson Reuters consensus.

The stock's year-to-date low is HK$16.92, set Jan. 3, which appears unlikely to be troubled, especially after the record-breaking Macau gross gambling revenue figure released Tuesday.


Source: Dow Jones Newswire

[winston]

Not vested

Sands China parent facing US probe
Thursday, March 03, 2011

Shares of Sands China (1928) fell the most in more than three months, after its majority shareholder - Las Vegas billionaire Sheldon Adelson's casino company - said it faces investigations from the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department.

Sands China tumbled 6.2 percent yesterday to HK$17.86, the biggest decline since November 17, paring its climb over the past year to 67 percent.

Adelson's Las Vegas Sands Corp, the parent of the Macau casino operator, said it received a subpoena from the SEC to produce documents relating to its Macau operations' compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The US Justice Department is conducting a similar investigation, the parent company said in a regulatory filing.

"This could drag on for some time," said Teng Yee Tan, an analyst at CIMB-GK Securities HK. "I would expect this overhang to continue to weigh down Sands China's share price, until we see a meaningful resolution."

Sands China fired Steven Jacobs as chief executive last summer, without specifying reasons. Jacobs sued his former employer in October in a Nevada state court, alleging breach of contract.

Jacobs' complaint alleges, among other things, that Las Vegas Sands demanded that he use improper leverage to win government concessions, that he retain a lawyer who was part of the Macau government, and that he mislead the board.

Ron Reese, a spokesman for Las Vegas Sands, described the contact by the authorities as making fact-finding inquiries.

BLOOMBERG


http://thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.a ... 10303&fc=7

[winston]

Not vested

DJ MARKET TALK:MS Ups Sands China To Overweight;Mass Market Focus

0853 [Dow Jones] STOCK CALL: Morgan Stanley upgrades Sands China (1928.HK) to Overweight from Equal-weight, and raises the target price to HK$22.00 from HK$18.20, as it increases its 2011 market growth expectation to 25% from 15%, and expects mass market revenue to grow faster than VIP in 2H11.

"We believe a lot of bad news is in the price and expect a few positive catalysts in the form of opening of Lots 5&6 next year, appointment of a new CEO, and improvement in VIP business."

MS raises its EBITDA estimates for 2011 by 8% to US$1.47 billion, which is 4% higher than consensus. The house believes the VIP segment has been the main engine for Macau revenue growth in the last 18 months, but interest rate hikes could have a lagged effect on this segment;

Sands China has the highest contribution from the mass segment and it is well positioned to benefit from this trend. The stock tumbled 6.2% to HK$17.86 Wednesday, hurt by news its parent Las Vegas Sands (LVS) is being investigated by U.S. authorities over its compliance with anti-bribery laws in its Macau operations.

Source: Dow Jones Newswire

[winston]

DJ MARKET TALK: Daiwa Raises Sands China Target Price To HK$25.98

1348 [Dow Jones] STOCK CALL: Daiwa raises Sands China (1928.HK) target price to HK$25.98 from HK$25.39 based on 16.5X EV/EBITDA after raising 2011-12 EBITDA forecasts slightly.

The house estimates the stock currently trades at 14.0X 2011 EV/EBITDA, compared with the sector average of 12.9X and 16.5X for Wynn Macau (1128.HK).

Daiwa says the stock deserves a valuation on par with Wynn Macau, given its strong competitive position. The house keeps the stock at Buy.

"While the SEC's probe into the parent LVS (LVS) could be overhang, we remain buyers of Sands China given its strong execution (shown at its 2010 results) in Macau's fast-expanding gaming industry (new revenue record for February)." The stock is up 0.8% at HK$18.00.

Source: Dow Jones Newswire

[winston]

Not vested

DJ Sands China First-Half Net Profit More Than Doubles To US$539.5 Mln

HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Sands China Ltd.'s (1928.HK) first-half net profit more than doubled from a year earlier, driven by soaring gambling revenue growth in Macau, it said Monday.

Net profit for the six months ended June 30 was US$539.5 million, up from US$250.5 million, the casino operator said.

Net revenue rose 19% to US$2.36 billion from US$1.98 billion.

Sands China didn't recommend a first-half dividend.

Parent company Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) said last month that Sands China's net income rose to US$267.4 million in the three months ended June 30 compared with US$133.6 million in the second quarter of 2010 on a Generally Accepted Accounting Principles basis.


Source: Dow Jones Newswires