Macau H1 GGR performance at lowest since 2006
Kwok Chi Chung, president of the Macau Association of Gaming and Entertainment Promoters, fears the second half of the year could be even worse if China keeps its zero-Covid policy.
Macau.- Casino operators are bracing themselves for another challenging quarter after Macau’s first-half revenue came in at its lowest since H1 2006. Revenue for the first six months of 2022 was MOP26.27bn (US$3.26bn), down 46.4 per cent year-on-year and the weakest since the MOP25.75bn recorded for the first six months of 2006.
June’s results weighed heavily, with gross gaming revenue plunging 25.9 per cent month on month to MOP2.48bn (US$310m), the lowest monthly GGR since September 2020, amid a new outbreak of Covid-19 cases.
Kwok Chi Chung, president of the Macau Association of Gaming and Entertainment Promoters, told GGRAsia the worst scenario for the city would be another similar six months if Chinese authorities keep their zero-Covid policy.
After a tough 2020, the city started to show signs of recovery in its tourism business and its casino industry last year. However, several Covid-19 outbreaks in Macau both Macau and mainland China, saw tourism decline for weeks at a time, hurting Macau’s GGR.
China remains the only country with a largely quarantine-free travel bubble with Macau.
JP Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Ltd said in a Friday note that Macau casino operators are likely to post negative earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the second quarter. Analysts said none of the operators would be able to generate positive EBITDA, not even Galaxy Entertainment Group.
