Refinancing to cut quarterly profit by $133 million

Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2005 | 11:02 a.m.

Las Vegas Sands Corp., the owner of the Venetian, said a debt refinancing will cut first-quarter profit by $133 million before taxes.

The company's Las Vegas Sands Inc. and Venetian Casino Resort LLC units today closed a $1.62 billion senior secured credit facility. The refinancing will save $63 million this year before taxes, the company said today in a statement.

The Las Vegas-based company used proceeds from a sale of bonds earlier this year, the new credit facility and cash on hand to refinance a loan and buy back the company's 11 percent mortgage notes. The costs will result from the early retirement of debt.

Shares of Las Vegas Sands fell $1.43 to $47.62 at 4:16 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have risen 64 percent since the initial public offering in December.

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