3 reasons Sands China's mass segment will remain robust

Mass revenue growth surged 17%.

According to Nomura, Sands recorded 17% q-q mass revenue growth in 4Q12 vs. the market, which delivered 11% q-q for the same period.

Although there was growth almost across the entire portfolio, up 57% q-q and 71% q-q, respectively, Four Seasons (FS) and Sands Cotai Central (SCC) accounted for bulk of the growth.

Slot is another key growth driver, coming in ahead of Nomura's expectation with 26% q-q, we think the success with ETGs would have played an instrumental role in that strong uptick.

Here's more from Nomura:

We think the overall mass segment will continue to be strong, and it will likely stem from:

Enhanced connectivity: The new enclosed + air conditioned bridge connection FS and SCC has opened for service since end of 2012.

We think this should not only benefit the mass market (like we saw the synergy we start to observe at FS in the past quarter), but also Sands’ non-gaming offerings.

We should start seeing more impact in 1Q13.

New rooms + new tables: Sands China has confirmed receiving the 200 promised tables for SCC opening earlier this week and the new capacity will be gradually integrated.

The new and remaining balance of the hotel rooms were introduced and should be helpful in capturing the strong traffic during Chinese New Year.

Further growth from the premium mass and ETG segments will also benefit the overall portfolio for Sands.

Macau infrastructural upgrades: Sands’ mass footprint in Macau will allow it to benefit proportionally more from potential visitation improvement brought in by the new train.