GGRAsia – Macau GGR falls 32 pct in November: govt

Macau GGR falls 32 pct in November: govt

Dec 01, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Macau’s casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) for November fell by 32.3 percent year-on-year to approximately MOP16.43 billion (US$2.06 billion), according to data released on Tuesday by the city’s regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. As had been widely predicted by investment analysts, it was the 18th straight month of GGR retreat measured year-on-year.

It was the lowest monthly GGR tally since September 2010, according to official data.

The November numbers mean that Macau’s accumulated GGR for the first 11 months of the year now stands at MOP212.5 billion, a fall of 35.3 percent compared to the same period in 2014.

Carlo Santarelli and Danny Valoy of Deutsche Bank Securities Inc said in a note on Monday that it could be 2018 before what they termed an “inflection” occurs in Macau casino operators’ earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation.

The analysts remarked on the muted impact on the overall Macau market of the opening of two new multibillion U.S. dollar Cotai properties – Galaxy Macau Phase 2 from Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd on May 27, and Studio City, 60-percent owned by Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd, on October 27.

“With two new openings having been met with an unwavering and still depressed GGR cadence, we believe most have, for now, given up on the supply driving demand thesis,” stated the Deutsche Bank team.

They added, referring to public infrastructure projects that have been trailed by some investors as being beneficial to the growth of Macau mass market gambling: “With infrastructure elements likely pushed beyond 2017, we see limited opportunities for increased visitation and thus we believe the market is likely to experience muted growth that largely relates to increasing mass spend per visitor…”

A bridge connecting Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macau across the Pearl River Delta will miss its 2016 deadline for completion by one year, the Hong Kong government confirmed in a statement on November 25.

The new director of Macau’s gaming bureau takes up his post today, Tuesday. Paulo Martins Chan, a former assistant public prosecutor-general in Macau, succeeds Manuel Joaquim das Neves, who has retired after almost two decades as director of the bureau.