Macau GGR for October likely to be down 80%, analysts say
Due to new Covid-19 cases in Macau, analysts expect revenue will be down 80 per cent when compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Macau.- Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd expect Macau’s gross gaming revenue for October will be down 80 per cent when compared to 2019 levels, previous to the Covid-19 pandemic. They forecast that GGR for 2021 as a whole will be down 69 per cent from pre-pandemic levels but up 51 per cent when compared to 2020 figures.
The decrease was mainly attributed to new local cases of Covid-19 in the city, which had a deep impact on the highly anticipated October Golden Week. Data from the Public Security Police show that daily average visitors to Macau during the holiday period was down 93.7 per cent compared with last year.
Zhuhai has deemed Macau to be a medium-to-high risk area for Covid-19 and authorities have tightened restrictions for people who have travelled from Macau.
About a possible recovery in the short term, analysts said: “We expect GGR improvement in November/December, but do not expect opening up of Hong Kong or easing of China visas until next spring and summer.”
Macau gaming operators expected to report EDITBA loss in Q3
Analysts at Morgan Stanley expect the six gaming operators in Macau to report a total of US$23m in negative industry corporate earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for the third quarter of 2021 due to Covid-19 cases in Macau in August and September.
The numbers would represent a 108 per cent drop from the previous quarter but only 1 per cent decrease from the same three months period of last year.
