J.P. Morgan Foresees Full Mass Gaming Recovery for Macau by October

MACAU, SAR (July 11, 2023) — Macau’s gaming industry has gotten off to a strong start this summer, according to J.P. Morgan analysts DS Kim and Mufan Shi.

According to the investment bank’s recent findings, gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the first nine days of July is estimated at MOP4.8 billion (US$600 million), or a daily run-rate of at least MOP530 million, an improvement from about MOP500m per day recorded in the previous quarter.

Despite the period benefiting from two weekends, this is the highest non-holiday GGR since the pandemic, the analysts pointed out.

The pair said that gaming revenue from the mass market is running at over 90 per cent of pre-Covid levels, with a prediction of a 100 per cent recovery as early as October.

It was predicted that Sands China is to kick off Macau’s second-quarter earnings in the coming weeks, with J.P. Morgan analysts expecting the industry to register all-time high margins.

Despite the sector’s positive performance, stocks have dropped 13 per cent in the last three months, compared to a 10 percent drop in the Hang Seng Index – a barometer of the Hong Kong stock market

The investment bank believes that the lack of momentum is due to systematic risks such as “macro headwinds” and “geopolitical risks”.

SOURCE: Macau News Agency (MNA).