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Las Vegas Sands retains top spot in GBGC 50 Gambling Index16 January 2012(PRESS RELEASE) -- Las Vegas Sands, the casino operator led by Sheldon Adelson, has held onto top spot in the GBGC 50 index of the largest gambling firms[1]for a second year. Not only is Las Vegas Sands ranked number one in the GBGC 50 Index but it has been joined by its sister company Sand Macau in second place. Las Vegas Sands (including its majority-owned subsidiary Sands China) reported casino revenues of US$ 5.43 billion for the nine months to 30 September 2011, representing a 38% increase over the same period in 2010. Consolidated operating profit for the nine month period in 2011 was US$ 1.73 billion, more than double the US$ 692 million reported in 2010. Lorien Pilling, Research Director at Global Betting and Gaming Consultants (GBGC), commented, "Given the strong performance of both its Macau and Singapore gaming properties in 2011 it is no surprise to see Las Vegas Sands and Sands China holding the top two spots in the GBGC 50 Index. The company has also reported a better performance from its US operations too." Specialist international gambling consultancy GBGC compiles two gambling specific stock market indices: The GBGC 50: consists of the 50 largest gambling companies by their gambling market capitalisation. The iGBGC: consists of the 10 largest Internet/interactive gambling companies by their gambling market capitalisation. GBGC tracks the rise and fall of the indices as the fortunes of the constituent gambling companies wax and wane. The total gambling market cap (i.e. market cap adjusted for share of revenues derived from gambling) of the 50 largest gaming companies in January 2012 decreased by 5% compared to April 2011, to US$185.3 billion. Between January 2011 and January 2012 the GBGC 50 Index fell from 121.0 to 118.4, a decline of 2.1% over the course of 12 months. This, however, was a better performance than the iGBGC Index of I-gaming companies which fell by 7.7% over the year from 269.1 to 248.5. The top 10 companies in the GBGC 50 continue to be dominated by operators focused on Asian gambling jurisdictions. Seven of the 10 largest gambling companies are Asian facing, including: Sands China, Wynn Macau, and SJM Holdings. Best & Worst Performers in the GBGC 50 The best performer in the GBGC 50 Index was Galaxy Entertainment, which saw its share price rise 53% over the year. The company opened its new Galaxy Macau casino in May 2011. Close behind Galaxy Entertainment was Kingston Financial (formerly Golden Resorts), which owns two casino hotels and offers entertainment services in Macau (up 51%), Irish-based bookmaker Paddy Power (up 46%) and Macau casino operator Melco Crown (up 45%). The worst performing shares were gaming machine manufacturer WMS (down 55%), Sportingbet (down 47.3%), which actually fell out of the index starting from January 2012 (it is now ranked 56th), and Greek lottery and sports betting giant OPAP (down 47.2%). |