Daiwa: GGR expected to fall 4 percent on monthly basis

Analysts at investment bank and brokerage firm Daiwa Securities Group have projected that Macau’s Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) for the month of February will fall by 4 percent on a monthly basis.
Taking into account table reclassification, VIP rolling run-­rate is expected to increase by around one percent month-­on-month to MOP7.3 billion, though it will still be a 35 percent decrease year-on-year.
Statistics released by the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) indicate that visitor arrivals from mainland China on Sunday and Monday (February 7 and 8) were up by 6.8 percent compared with the same days of the Spring Festival last year.
Daiwa said that the figures represent a healthy start to the Chinese New Year (CNY) period, bolstered by on-site checks of advance hotel bookings that indicate nearly full occupancy rates among the major hotels in the MSAR.
This promising beginning to the new year may be aided by the opening of the Taipa Ferry Terminal in mid-2016, which Daiwa says will likely shift the market share in favor of the newer, Cotai-centric operators.
According to AAStocks, Daiwa has rated Macau’s gaming sector as “Neutral” in China’s macro environment. Their top pick is Galaxy Entertainment, with a rating of “Buy”.
Macau’s casino revenue fell 21.4 percent in January amid a lull before Chinese New Year, which is traditionally a popular period for Chinese gamblers to visit the region. Gross gaming revenue fell to MOP18.7 billion (USD2.3 billion). This marks a 20th consecutive month of decline, according to data released by Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. Staff reporter