Marina Bay Sands (MBS) suffered a loss of US$113 million (S$156.3 million) in the second quarter of this year, reported its parent company Las Vegas Sands in a Jul. 22 press release.

This is compared to the US$346 million (S$478.5 million) in profit that MBS made during the same period in 2019.

Closed for nearly 3 months

MBS spent the majority of the second quarter of 2020 temporarily shut down due to Covid-19 measures.

When Singapore's circuit breaker began on Apr. 7, MBS ceased all Integrated Resort (IR) services and operations — the hotel, attractions (including ArtScience Museum), The Shoppes, food and beverage outlets, and the casino.

The temporary cessation of MBS IR services and operations had previously been planned to last only one month, until the end of circuit breaker on May 4.

However, the shutdown extended to almost three months with the extension of circuit breaker and safe distancing measures.

The IR only began opening again on Jun. 19, starting first with the Shoppes, with restricted accessibility to only Sands Rewards members.

The Casino reopened on Jul. 1, but with access restricted to Sands Rewards Club and Paiza members, and Annual Levy Holders.

On Jul. 6, MBS opened its doors to public to access ArtScience Museum, The Shoppes, restaurants, and Sands SkyPark Observation Deck.

Starting Jul. 17, MBS reopened its hotel for staycations.

It also reopened the infinity pool, the Banyan Tree Spa and Fitness club, sampan rides, and a number of restaurants and bars.

All other venues in the Integrated Resort (IR), such as Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marquee, and Sands Theatre, remain closed for the time being.

S$156.3 million in losses

Between April and June of this year, MBS experienced losses of US$113 million (S$156.3 million), which is a drop of 132.7 per cent.

MBS's revenues from its casino, rooms, food and beverage, and mall all fell by more than 90 per cent.

MBS earned US$7 million (S$9.7 million) in revenue from its casino this quarter, a drastic 98.5 per cent plunge compared to the US$468 million (S$647.3 million) it earned in the second quarter of 2019.

Rooms, which earned a revenue of US$93 million (S$128.64 million) in Q2 of 2019 dropped 98.9 per cent to only earning US$1 million (S$1.4 million) in Q2 of 2020.

Similarly, F&B revenue dropped 96.6 per cent from US$58 million (S$80.2 million) to US$2 million (S$2.8 million).

The mall earned 92.9 per cent less in the second quarter of 2020 — only US$3 million (S$4.15 million) as compared to US$42 million (S$58.1 million).

Still, chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Sheldon Adelson said in a statement that the company is optimistic:

"We remain optimistic about an eventual recovery of travel and tourism spending across our markets, as well as our future growth prospects.

We are fortunate that our financial strength will enable us to continue to execute our previously announced capital expenditure programs in both Macao and Singapore, while continuing to pursue growth opportunities in new markets."

Top photo via MBS website.