The winding down of the Russia World Cup and seasonal summer holiday strength has boosted the outlook for Macau’s gross gaming revenue figures in July, according to brokerage Sanford C Bernstein, with analysts estimating monthly GGR of MOP$25.8 billion to MOP$26.1 billion.
The figure represents a year-on-year increase of between 12% and 14%, revised upwards from between 10% and 12% on the back of a strong seven-day period from 9 to 15 July in which the average daily rate (ADR) reached MOP$886 million – up 29% on the same period in 2017.
Month to date, Bernstein estimates ADR of MOP$853 million, a 15% increase on July 2017 levels, 14% higher than last month and 4% better than May.
Analysts Vitaly Umansky, Zhen Gong and Kelsey Zhu stated that “strong volumes were observed in some weekdays without World Cup matches” with mass revenue tracking at mid-to-high single digit sequential growth and VIP volume in the high teens compared with June.
Macau has enjoyed 23 consecutive months of GGR growth although June’s 12.5% year-on-year revenue increase fell considerably short of expectations.