GGRAsia – Four Macau ops share gainers in 4Q, Sands leader: DB

Four Macau ops share gainers in 4Q, Sands leader: DB

Mar 09, 2023 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Four Macau casino operators were market-share gainers to competitors from the third- to the fourth-quarter results, in terms of gross gaming revenue (GGR), according to a Wednesday memo from Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. Despite losing 74 basis points, Sands China Ltd still led the market in the final three months of 2022, with an overall share of 24.4 percent, stated the institution.

Share gainers in the three months to December 31 – a period with some easing of Covid-19 related travel restrictions on Macau tourism compared to the previous quarter – were said to be Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd, up to a 18.3-percent market share; Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd, with 15.6 percent; MGM China Holdings, rising to 14.7 percent; and Wynn Macau Ltd, with 12.7 percent.

Aside from Sands China, the other “donor” was SJM Holdings Ltd, down 321 basis points sequentially, to a 14.4-percent share of Macau’s fourth-quarter casino GGR, according to the note from analyst Carlo Santarelli.

The bank said aggregate fourth-quarter GGR in Macau was nearly US$1.29 billion, based on company reported data. The institution also gave a breakdown between mass-market GGR – including mass tables and slot machines – and VIP-table GGR.

Mass GGR share gainers in the three months to December 31, relative to the preceding three months, were said to be Galaxy Entertainment, Sands China, Wynn Macau Ltd, and MGM China.

Market-wide mass-table and slot GGR for the fourth quarter was nearly US$1.16 billion, up 86.0 percent sequentially on the third quarter’s US$623 million.

Sands China’s share of the fourth-quarter mass GGR was said to be 24.5 percent, up from 23.7 percent in the previous three months. Galaxy Entertainment’s share rose to 18.7 percent, from 17.9 percent; Wynn Macau Ltd’s was 13.6 percent, an increase of 125 basis points; and MGM China’s share was 14.6 percent, up from 13.5 percent in the third quarter.

The mass table and slot GGR fourth-quarter “donors” were stated by Deutsche Bank to be SJM Holdings, with a 15.2-percent share, down from 19.1 percent in the previous three months; and Melco Resorts, with a share of 13.4 percent, compared to 13.5 percent in the preceding quarter.

The VIP GGR share gainers for the quarter – which market-wide was a big improvement on the third quarter – were estimated by Deutsche Bank to be SJM Holdings, Galaxy Entertainment, Melco Resorts and MGM China.

The bank put aggregate fourth-quarter VIP table GGR at US$129 million, up 69.7 percent on the third quarter’s US$76 million.

SJM Holdings had a 7.0 percent share, up from 4.9 percent in the third quarter. Galaxy Entertainment was put at 14.8 percent, an increase on the 9.5-percent share in the third quarter; while MGM China’s share stood at 15.0 percent, up from 11.1 percent. Melco Resorts’ VIP GGR market share rose to 34.9 percent in the final quarter of 2022, from 22.3 percent in the preceding quarter, according to Deutsche Bank’s estimates.

Of the VIP GGR share “donors”, Sands China had 23.5 percent, down from 36.8 percent in the third quarter, while Wynn Macau Ltd had a 4.8-percent share in the fourth quarter, compared to 15.3 percent in the previous three months.