GGRAsia – Macau GGR growth softens: analysts

Macau GGR growth softens: analysts

May 20, 2014 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

The growth of casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) in Macau softened last week, two analysts say.

Brokerage firm Sterne Agee said average daily table GGR stood at MOP920 million (US$115.2 million) for the week ended May 18, up by less than one percent from a year earlier, and down by 11 percent from the week before.

The Macau gaming industry was hit last week by a string of reports on junket liquidity and a potential crackdown on unregistered mobile China UnionPay card processors. It is unclear if those reports had a negative impact on GGR.

Sterne Agee analyst David Bain said Macau table-only gaming revenue was MOP19.2 billion through May 18, quoting channel checks. The May GGR run rate stood at around 15 percent year-on-year, including slot machine assumptions.

Mr Bain maintained his May GGR forecast for growth between 12 percent and 17 percent in comparison with a year before. “We see last week’s checked GGR result as steady – business as usual,” he said.

Wells Fargo analyst Cameron McKnight also reported that GGR in May is trending lower.

Mr McKnight revised his growth forecast for full-May. He now sees Macau GGR going up by between 10 percent and 14 percent year-on-year. He previously had forecast growth between 14 percent and 16 percent.

GGR in Macau stood at MOP113.5 billion in the first four months of 2014, an increase of 17.5 percent from a year before, official data show.

GGR for May 2013 was MOP29.6 billion, an increase of 13.5 percent from May 2012.