October to set all-time gaming revenue record in Macau

Analyst David Bain from U.S.-based brokerage firm Sterne Agee wrote in a note, “We expect daily MOP to reaccelerate through the end of this month and project October to set an all-time gross gaming revenue record at us$ 3.5 billion (inclusive of slots), or +5 percent year-on-year”.

Citi Group also expects October’s gaming revenue to reach us$ 3.43 billion, setting a new record since 2006. Bain also said that he continues to believe the upcoming political handover in mainland China could serve as a catalyst for VIP gross gaming revenue, which accounts for around 70 percent of market-wide gross gaming revenue.

According to the analyst’s checks, SJM Holdings’s market share will drop from 27.2 percent in September to 26.4 percent in October. Galaxy Entertainment Group will see its piece of the market increase from 18.1 percent to 20.5 percent, and will keep its second place position in the casino revenue rankings.

Sands China’s share will also grow by 2 percent to 19.7 percent. Melco Crown Entertainment will increase its share by 0.2 percentage points to 14.5 percent, while Wynn Macau’s and MGM China Holdings’s shares of the market will drop to 10.3 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively.

Sterne Agee has also raised its third quarter earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) estimates for Las Vegas Sands Corp, parent of the Macau-based gaming operator Sands China, by 4.8 percent, and for Melco Crown Entertainment by 11.4 percent.

It also predicts that Wynn Resorts’s third quarter rolling chip volume will be off by 10 percent quarter-on-quarter. Wynn Resorts is a parent company of the Macau-based Wynn Macau.