Macau’s gaming revenue jumped 53.1 percent last month from a year ago, exceeding analyst estimates and marking a year-on-year growth for 15 consecutive months.
The casino hub’s gross gaming revenue came in at 19.5 billion patacas (HK$18.93 billion) in March, according to data released by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau yesterday.
The result was higher than the median analyst estimate of a 49 percent year-on-year increase. The month’s total was about 75 percent of the pre-pandemic level in March 2019.
The March figure also saw a 5.5 percent increase from February.
For the first three months, total gaming revenue rose 65.5 percent to 57.3 billion patacas from a year ago.
Macau’s post-Covid recovery path is slowing as China’s economic growth loses momentum. December was Macau’s best-performing month since the pandemic sapped tourism from the region, with gaming revenue reaching 81 percent of 2019 levels. But those gains have not held, sinking to as low as 73 percent of pre-Covid levels in February.
Analysts had slashed their growth forecast for March from 53 percent to 49 percent after the city reported lower-than-expected gaming revenue in February. Slowing growth came despite rising numbers of tourists, suggesting weakened spending per person.
Macau casinos are seeing costs rise above 2019 levels, mostly stemming from investment in non-gaming activities, Morgan Stanley said earlier.
Hong Kong United Times丨香港聯合時報丨HKUT 