Las Vegas Sands suspends dividend program with eye toward future
Las Vegas Sands Corp. is suspending its dividend program amid the COVID-19 pandemic to have “maximum optionality” in producing future returns, according to a Thursday night statement from Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson.
Adelson said that while he believes dividends are important to shareholders, “a strong balance sheet is also a vital and necessary component” for long-term stockholder value.
“As the largest shareholder of this company, my interests are very directly aligned with the interest of all shareholders,” he said in the release. “As I look forward to the day — soon let us hope — when this terrible virus is no longer of concern — I see many strategic opportunities for our company precisely because of our financial strength. It is because of this optimism that we are suspending the dividend.”
Adelson added that the company will revisit the dividend suspension “at the earliest reasonable opportunity.”
The latest dividend from the company was Jan. 29, when it paid quarterly dividends of $0.79 per share. In 2019, the company paid dividends of $3.08 per share, and its board of directors announced plans to increase the company’s recurring common stock dividend for 2020 to $3.16 per share, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Adelson said he expects Sands Corp.’s balance sheet will enable the company to emerge from the pandemic “with all (its) promising future growth opportunities fully intact.”
“The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on our business has been unprecedented, and I have never seen anything like it in my over seventy years in business,” he said in the statement. “We remain extremely optimistic about an eventual recovery of travel and tourism spending across our markets, as well as our future growth prospects.”
Adelson added that the company’s greatest priority at this time is the safety and security of employees and guests, as well as support for local communities in Macao, Singapore and Las Vegas, where Sands has operations. The company plans to continue its previously announced capital expenditure programs in Macao and Singapore.
The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson.
Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0233. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter.
