Macau GGR won’t return to pre-pandemic levels until 2027, UBS says

Macau still has a long road ahead to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

04/12/22

The financial services company says Macau GGR for 2022 will be at 34 per cent of 2019 levels.

Macau.- The global financial services firm UBS estimates that Macau’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) is unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2027. It predicts a 29 per cent drop in revenue this year, forecasting sales of around $12bn, 34 per cent of 2019 levels ($36bn).

Mass market revenue is expected to reach 90 per cent of pre-Covid levels this year, compared to 25 per cent for VIP. UBS has also cut its 2023 forecast by 15 per cent due to the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak in mainland China. It now predicts GGR for 2023 will reach 64 per cent of 2019 levels.

A few days ago, Fitch Ratings predicted Macau’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) for 2022 will be about 44 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. Analysts expect the city could see revenue of MOP129bn. Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd previously came to a similar conclusion, predicting that Macau’s GGR could recover 47 per cent year-over-year in 2022 to around 44 per cent of pre-pandemic levels seen in 2019.

Macau’s full-year gross gambling revenue for 2021 was up 43.7 per cent year-on-year at MOP86.86bn (US$10.82bn).

Macau average daily revenue up 3% last week

Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd has reported that average daily sales in Macau reached MOP100m in the week ended April 10 week-on-week. That’s a 3 per cent increase on the previous week, but still down 16 per cent when compared to March.

Month-to-date gross gaming revenue was MOP1bn (US$123m), down 87 per cent from pre-pandemic levels and down 64 per cent from a year earlier.

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