Macau Oct mass GGR likely 113pct of pre-Covid: analysts

Nov 01, 2024 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck  

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Macau in likelihood had in October an “all-time high” in monthly mass-market gross gaming revenue (GGR), including slots, against the backdrop of “impressive” demand during October Golden Week, says JP Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Ltd.

The brokerage was referring to a Chinese mainland holiday running from October 1 to October 7 this year, and encompassing China’s National Day at the start of the break.

On Friday, Macau’s gaming regulator said October aggregate GGR was nearly MOP20.79 billion (US$2.60 billion), up 6.6 percent from a year earlier.

“October printed the highest GGR in 57 months,” wrote JP Morgan analysts DS Kim, Mufan Shi, and Selina Li, in a Friday memo.

They added: “GGR grew 7 percent year-on-year and 20 percent month-on-month to the post-pandemic high of MOP20.8 billion, or MOP671 million per day in October, representing a 79 percent recovery versus pre-Covid, versus 77 percent for the first nine months of 2024.”

JP Morgan estimated Macau’s October mass-table plus slots GGR at just under MOP18.48 billion, itself a 6.6-percent year-on-year improvement, and 112.5-percent of the October 2019 mass-table plus slots GGR tally of just under MOP16.42 billion.

The brokerage’s analysts stated: “October GGR suggests the industry generated all-time high mass revenues – including slots – in Macau’s history, recovering to 113 percent of the pre-Covid record.”

They added: “This looks pretty impressive to us, considering headwinds from weak macro and consumer sentiment.”

The institution also estimated that fourth quarter GGR was likely to “edge up” quarter-on-quarter, which if realised, would mark “the first sequential rebound in three quarters”.

That would be “despite a likely softer-than-seasonal December” as in the bank’s view, China’s leader President Xi Jinping was “likely to visit Macau to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the city’s return to China”.

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