The dividend of Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) will not be reinstated until at least late 2022. Unless a modified agreement with a group of creditors allows it to achieve certain liquidity requirements.
In exchange for deferring the payout, the gambling corporation has been given permission to sell its Las Vegas holdings by a group of lenders led by Bank of Nova Scotia. The Venetian and the Sands Expo & Convention Center are two of them.
The casino operator sold the properties for $6.25 billion to Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) and VICI Properties (NYSE:VICI) in March. Sands had been prohibited from selling its domestic operations under a previous agreement with creditors, but that covenant has been lifted. As a result of the relaxation, LVS must wait until it has liquidity in excess of $1 billion before restarting its payout.
According to a Form 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, “the existing revolving credit agreement was amended to extend the period during which the borrower is unable to declare or pay any dividend or other distribution unless liquidity is greater than $1 billion on a pro forma basis after giving effect to such dividend or distribution to December 31, 2022.” (SEC).
The agreement has also been updated to extend the time during which LVS is not obligated to maintain a consolidated leverage ratio of 4-to-1 as of the final day of any fiscal quarter until the end of 2022. It also raises the minimum liquidity requirement for the operator to $700 million.
Will LVS recover?
Chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands, Rob Goldstein, expects the company’s Marina Bay Sands integrated resort in Singapore to see a major comeback in 2022, reflecting the resurgence already felt by casino operators in Las Vegas.
Although the timing of recovery in LVS’s other major Asian market, Macau, remains uncertain, Goldstein told analysts during the company’s 3Q21 earnings call on Thursday morning (Asian time) that he expects Singapore to rebound strongly next year, boosted by rising vaccination rates and pent-up demand.
“Las Vegas is the model for Asian recovery,” Goldstein added. “We were warned that revenues would not return to Las Vegas until 2024 or 2025, yet here we are in the fall of 2021, and the market has burst up.” What is the route? Pent-up demand, immunizations, and new doors are all on the horizon.
“Vaccinations are also on the rise throughout Asia. What’s going on in Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, China, and Korea is all above what’s going on in the United States. So we have incredibly high immunization rates, but we also have a government that wants to open the doors, as indicated by the Singapore government.”
Singapore has launched on a strategy to live with COVID-19, according to Inside Asian Gaming, having removed a number of restrictions after the vaccination rate reached 80% in August and enabled international travel to arrivals from certain countries. Due to an increase in cases, some limitations have been reinstated in recent weeks, though most of them are only applicable to people who have not been vaccinated.
“We will see a major turn in 2022,” Goldstein predicted, adding that “the recovery will begin in 2022.”
“When are you going to get back to an EBITDA of US$1.7 billion?” I’m not sure, but if the government continues on its current course, which has showed a lot of leadership and forethought, things will be a lot better in 2022. Vaccination rates are well above 80%. As the government opens its traffic lanes, the market there is ready to reopen.
Did Las Vegas Sands suspend its dividend?
- Since at least 2013, Sheldon Adelson has used some variation of the phrase “yeah, dividends!” He’s used it more than 20 times in that time, according to a FactSet search of Las Vegas Sands conference calls.
- Due to the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on the casino industry, Las Vegas Sands stated that its dividends will be suspended.
How much does MGM pay in dividends?
MGM Resorts International’s most recent quarterly dividend payment was made to shareholders on September 15, 2021, at a rate of $0.0025 per share.
Is Ford currently paying a dividend?
- Ford Motor Company announced that it will resume paying its regular dividend in the fourth quarter, more than a year and a half after withholding payments during the Covid pandemic’s early days.
- The company announced that the fourth-quarter dividend of 10 cents per share on outstanding ordinary and Class B stock will be paid on Dec. 1 to shareholders of record on Nov. 19 at the close of business.
- The dividend will cost around $400 million per quarter, according to CFO John Lawler.
How often are Ford dividends paid?
The dividend is likely to be declared in two months and paid in three months. The previous Ford Motor Company dividend was 10c, which was exempt 19 days ago and paid 6 days ago. The dividend cover is roughly 7.8 and there is usually one dividend each year (excluding specials).
Did Ford suspend their dividend?
Ford decided to withhold its dividend in March 2020, at a time when the coronavirus epidemic was still causing uncertainties. Last year, Ford saved $2.4 billion in cash by not paying the $0.15 per share quarterly dividend.
