• About Us
  • The Team
  • Advertise with Us

The latest news on the gaming industry in Asia

() () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () ()
  • Home
  • Macau
  • Philippines
  • Singapore
  • Japan
  • Rest of Asia
  • World
  • Features
  • Industry Talk
  • Trends & Tech
  • follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • RSS Feed
    • LinkedIn

Macau casino GGR up 4.4pct in festive February: govt

Mar 01, 2019 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck  


Macau casino GGR up 4.4pct in festive February: govt

Casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) in Macau rose by 4.4 percent year-on-year in February, to MOP25.37 billion (US$3.14 billion), according to data from the city’s regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, released on Friday.

The latest monthly result puts the market’s accumulated 2019 year-on-year decline at 0.5 percent, or MOP50.31 billion. January casino GGR registered the first year-on-year monthly decline since 2016.

“On a combined basis, January/February 2019 was flat year-on-year,” wrote analysts Vitaly Umansky, Eunice Lee and Kelsey Zhu of brokerage Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd. “The January/February 2018 period saw year-on-year growth of 20 percent setting up a difficult year-on-year comparison,” the noted in a Friday note.

February included the Chinese New Year holiday, which typically sees a spike in visitor numbers and in GGR.

Grant Govertsen, an analyst at Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd, said in a Friday note: “The timing of Chinese New Year (CNY) should have, in theory, benefited this year. Based on our on-the-ground observations, and given robust foot traffic trends, it appears that mass market came through for operators and growth of this segment likely remains in the low double digits.”

Visitor arrivals to Macau during the Chinese New Year holiday period increased by 26.6 percent from a year earlier, passing the one-million mark for the first time.

Preliminary figures reported by the Macao Government Tourism Office show Macau recorded 1.21 million visitor arrivals between February 4 and February 10, the seven days of the Chinese New Year holiday period.

The week-long holiday period is usually a peak season for Macau’s gaming industry as hundreds of thousands of mainland Chinese tourists take advantage of the week-long break to visit the city.

Investment analysts however have noted in previous commentary on Macau that there need not be a direct correlation between numbers of tourists to Macau and gaming spend in casinos. This is because research indicates that high-stakes play by a relatively small number of visitors is still an important component of the market.

Union Gaming’s Mr Govertsen said in his Friday memo: “VIP likely dipped into negative territory on a market-wide basis, although certainly mixed at the operator level. On a GGR/day basis, February was MOP906 million … or the highest level since the fall of 2014.”

Top executives at Macau casino operators have provided some bullish commentary on performance during last month’s festive holiday period.

Grant Bowie, chief executive of MGM China Holdings Ltd, said on a conference call with analysts last month that the Chinese New Year holiday period had been “solid” for the company. Mr Bowie said however that despite the strong traffic during the holiday period, he did not expect “significant spikes” in GGR.

(Updated at 2.23pm, March 1)


  • tweet
Related articles
  • Pansy Ho again cuts stake in MGM Resorts, for US$57mln
    Pansy Ho again cuts stake in MGM...

    Mar 04, 2021  

  • Covid-19 test cert no longer needed for Macau casino entry
    Covid-19 test cert no longer needed for...

    Mar 02, 2021  

More news
  • Fitch says LVS Nevada sale slight negative, Moody’s keener
    Fitch says LVS Nevada sale slight...

    Mar 05, 2021  

  • Travel ban on casino hub Sihanoukville: reports
    Travel ban on casino hub Sihanoukville:...

    Mar 05, 2021  


Latest News

Fitch says LVS Nevada sale slight negative, Moody’s keener

Fitch says LVS Nevada sale slight negative, Moody’s keener

Mar 05, 2021  

Despite United States-based casino group Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS) being in line to generate US$6.25 billion from the sale of its Las Vegas, Nevada assets, Fitch Ratings Inc said in a Thursday memo...
Read More
Travel ban on casino hub Sihanoukville: reports

Travel ban on casino hub Sihanoukville: reports

Mar 05, 2021  

Melco says City of Dreams in Cyprus open summer 2022

Melco says City of Dreams in Cyprus open summer 2022

Mar 05, 2021  

Sign up to our FREE Newsletter

UB8V5.qr.16(Click here for more)

Partners

Pick of the Day

“Prolonged closure of operations could derail earnings recovery and weigh on NagaCorp’s credit quality"

Junling Tan, Yu Sheng Tay and Vikas Halan

Analysts at credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service



Most Popular

  • Lim Kok Thay, GEN Singapore execs in US$1.3mln stock awardLim Kok Thay, GEN Singapore execs in US$1.3mln stock award March 2, 2021
  • Las Vegas Sands to sell off Nevada assets for US$6.25blnLas Vegas Sands to sell off Nevada assets for US$6.25bln March 3, 2021
  • Covid-19 test cert no longer needed for Macau casino entryCovid-19 test cert no longer needed for Macau casino entry March 2, 2021
  • Galaxy Macau to add Raffles-branded hotel towerGalaxy Macau to add Raffles-branded hotel tower March 1, 2021
  • Macau casino GGR down 9pct m-o-m in February: govtMacau casino GGR down 9pct m-o-m in February: govt March 1, 2021
Copyright 2014-2021 TEAM Publishing and Consultancy Ltd / All rights reserved
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Useful Links
  • Contact Us