Taking it to the limit

2014/9/10

From：Macau Business Daily

Sands China is planning to hire extra 6,000 workers for the hotel St. Regis Macao and hotel and casino Parisian Macau, opening in early 2015 and early 2016, respectively. The number was revealed by Hong Kong newspaper The Standard in an interview with Edward Tracy, Chief Executive Officer of the Las Vegas subsidiary.
“Sands China has 27,000 employees, making it the largest employer in Macau. It will hire 6,000 more for its future projects”, the newspaper says.
The company currently has 9,000 rooms in five hotels. However, the opening of St. Regis will increase it by 400 rooms and the opening of the Parisian will add another 3,000.
In August, Sands China overtook SJM Holdings as the market leader in Macau’s gaming industry with a share of 24.6 percent. The company benefited from its strategy to invest in the mass market. Former frontrunner SJM occupies 22.4 percent of Macau’s gaming market.
“We’re confident that we can expand market share as we have the greatest capacity and content that none of our competitors can compare with”, Tracy said of Sands China.
The 61-year old American admitted, as well, that his intention is to consolidate its leading position and further expand market share.
In the first half of the year the company owned by Sheldon Adelson posted a record adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of US$1.74 billion (an increase of 35.7 percent year-on-year). However, some investment houses downgraded Sands China stocks.
“We still have an EBITDA – operational profit – of US$800 million in the second quarter, which is extraordinary . . . Market psychology is something I can’t do. I will keep on doing my job every day and stay very focused on fundamentals although there are many people who want to distract you”, Tracy told The Standard in reference to investment houses.
Edward Tracy was appointed Chief Operating Officer in August 2010. In June 2011, he assumed the roles of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President of Sands China.
“I certainly do have stress. It’s the biggest job in the industry. I’m responsible for lots of people”, he said. The Sands China CEO also said that he works hard to set an example for the team.
The President of Sands China also highlighted that the client is the most important part of the business.
“I’m dedicated to the hospitality industry be it retail, hotel, entertainment or casino. Instead of focusing on profitability, customers always come first”, he explained.
This approach may be justified by the occupancy rate of the Sands China resorts. “We have 200,000 customers on weekdays and 500,000 during holidays; the hotels have an overall occupancy rate of 96 percent”, he said. “The number of transactions is huge”.

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