Macau daily GGR reaches US$74m in second week of January

Analysts at JP Morgan still expect Macau’s January GGR to reach MOP17.5-18bn, despite a decrease from New Year holiday levels.

Macau.- JP Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) has reported a 4.8 per cent moderation in daily gross gaming revenue (GGR) compared to the peak of MOP630m during the New Year holiday. 

Despite this slight decline, analysts DS Kim, Mufan Shi, and Selina Li noted the city posted a daily GGR of MOP600m (US$74m) during the second week of the month and anticipated a monthly GGR of between MOP17.5bn and MOP18bn.

Analysts further stated that for the initial 14 days of January, Macau’s GGR reached an estimated MOP8.6bn, maintaining a “robust run rate” of MOP614m daily. This surpasses December’s daily GGR of MOP599m, which already exceeded market expectations.

December’s GGR was up 15.8 per cent month-on-month from MOP16.04bn to MOP18.56bn (US$2.3bn).

JP Morgan also underscored the resilience of mass-market GGR in January, running at “105 per cent to 110 per cent” of the equivalent 2019 period. VIP GGR, while exhibiting a “flattish month-on-month” trend, remains at approximately 20 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels. 

A week ago, brokerage Citigroup predicted Macau’s GGR would reach MOP$17.5bn (US$2.2bn) in January. Analysts highlighted that December 2023 exceeded expectations, recording a GGR of MOP18.56bn (US$2.3bn), showcasing a daily run-rate surpassing both market and broker projections by approximately 6 per cent.

In parallel, brokerage firm Morgan Stanley has predicted that Macau’s ggr will rise 28 per cent year-on-year in 2024 and reach 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.