Macau casinos reopen after losing €160 million

Gaming companies opened on Monday after a 33-hour shutdown due to typhoon Mangkhut and reported a big loss over the weekend.

Macau.- Typhoon Mangkhut struck southeast China last weekend and forced Macau casinos to shut down for 33 hours before opening back again on Monday at 8 am local time. Though they were closed less than two days, according to Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd, operators reported losses of €160 million due to gamblers staying away during the storm and the hours after.

Not only did the typhoon hurt revenue or GGR projections for September, but it also impacted on casino operators’ stock value. Galaxy saw a share drop of 4.6% on Monday, while SJM fell 3.9% and Wynn Macau shares were also down 3.2%.

JPMorgan analyst DS Kim wrote: “Investor sentiment could remain weak and volatile for now, given macro uncertainties and likely earnings revision by the street, exacerbated by this typhoon/suspension news (…) September could be a month to forget.”

The Chinese territory of Macau hosts the largest gambling hub in the world, made possible after casino licences were first issued in 2002. However, the industry was forced to close its operations between Saturday and Monday due to safety risks caused by the typhoon Mangkhut, which struck the coasts of China this weekend and has already killed dozens of people in southeast Asia.