Restaurant revenue sees slight increase

Thirty percent of interviewed restaurants and similar establishments in November 2016 had reported to the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) that a year-on-year growth in revenue has been recorded for that month, according to a statement published yesterday by the government department.

DSEC notes that this is an improvement by 4 percentage points compared to the records in October 2016 and this may have been due to the Macau Grand Prix and Food Festival in the city in November.

Amongst the sector, 55 percent of Chinese restaurants showed a year- on-year rise in revenue, up by 6 percentage points over the previous month. Meanwhile, 35 percent of Western restaurants and 25 percent of Japanese and Korean restaurants registered revenue month-to-month gains in November of nine and 13 percentage points respectively.

However, half of the interviewed restaurants in November recorded an annual decline in revenue, similar to the results of the previous month.

The results originate from a monthly survey conducted by DSEC, titled the “Business Climate Survey on Restaurants and Similar Establishments and Retail Trade”, which also contacts retailers in the MSAR. Some 167 restaurants and 135 retailers were contacted to participate in the survey.

With regards to retail trade, around 39 percent of those interviewed reported a year-on-year growth in sales in November, up by 4 percentage points over the previous month. Fifty-three percent recorded a year-on-year decline, down by 5 percentage points month-to-month, indicating an overall improvement.

Retailers said in November that they expected no significant change in their businesses in December.