Macau Casino Revenue Rises for 10th Month in May

Macau’s casino market has continued its winning ways into May, with revenue rising by 23.7% to $2.83 billion year-on-year, according to the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. Furthermore, not only was the latest figure higher than the 15-20% forecast made by industry experts, but is was also the highest rate recorded since February of 2014.
Helping to explain some of May’s impressive performance was the Dragon Boat Festival falling on May 30th this year, compared to June 9 in 2016. As a result, visitors to the resort totalled 404,073 between May 27-30, representing a 9.12% year-on-year, and as analysts Vitaly Umansky, Zhen Gong and Yang Xie explain:
“The implied ADR [average daily revenue] for the last seven days of the month, which incorporated the Dragon Boat Festival long weekend, was over MOP805 million [US$78 million].”
The positive result comes despite the calendar having one fewer Sunday in May of this year, with Brokerage Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd also pointing out that May’s casino results would have been “notably higher” if not for a visit earlier in the month by Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the National People’s Congress.
Up until last year, Macau had suffered from almost two years of revenue decline as a result of an anti-corruption drive instigated by the government headed by President Xi Jinping in 2014. It was the extra level of scrutiny directed towards junket operators and their high roller customers which ultimately caused Macau’s casino market to take a hit, but the industry subsequently responded by diversifying its attractions to better appeal to middle-class families.
Since the turnaround, the world’s biggest gambling destination has now returned 10 consecutive months of growth, while for the first five months of 2017 casino revenue is also currently higher by 15.8% y-o-y. So far this year, Wynn Macau and Melco Resorts & Entertainment have had the best performing shares, with their prices up by 43% and 42%, respectively.