Only SJM Holdings Ltd and Wynn Macau Ltd among Macau’s six casino operators showed sequential gains in market share in terms of casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) in the third quarter. But only SJM Holdings reported a sequential increase in its actual GGR for the period, according to Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.
Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli gave an overview of the three months to September 30, now that all the market participants have reported their quarterly data.
A number of investment analysts mentioned that ramping up of business at Grand Lisboa Palace (pictured), SJM Holdings’ Cotai resort, had helped the firm’s third-quarter performance. The company had reported a modest profit, according to unaudited third-quarter highlights filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Tuesday (November 12).
Deutsche Bank’s assessment of the Macau GGR shares and performance relates to company-reported GGR figures. Segmental split on the operator figures can vary from how the local regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, measures such information, based on the latter’s definition of table classifications.
Based on the bank’s tabulation, for the third quarter, SJM Holdings had a market share of 14.1 percent of GGR, up from 12.7 percent in the second quarter. In U.S. dollar terms, the company reported GGR up circa 8.7 percent quarter-on-quarter, at US$967 million.
Wynn Macau Ltd was up a single basis point sequentially, to a 12.8 percent share, but down 0.8 percent in actual GGR, to US$880 million.
The biggest GGR share loser quarter-on-quarter was MGM China Holdings Ltd, down 1.3 percentage points, to 14.8 percent, or just under US$1.02 billion. The latter was a sequential GGR decline of 9.7 percent. A number of analysts said some quarterly share loss had been anticipated for MGM China, due to ongoing robust competition for players in the Macau market.
Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd donated two basis points of share quarter-on-quarter, to end on 14.7 percent. Its just-over US$1.01 billion in GGR was a sequential decline of 3.1 percent.
Sands China Ltd’s third-quarter GGR share was steady, at 24.5 percent. Its GGR tally was down 1.6 percent sequentially, at just over US$1.68 billion.
Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd saw its market share hold firm at 19.1 percent. But its third-quarter GGR was down 1.8 percent, at US$1.31 billion.
