Grant Govertsen, analyst at brokerage Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd, said in a Tuesday note: “The growth came despite an unfavorable calendar with one fewer Saturday and was against a relatively tough comp of +16%. On a GGR per day basis, April’s US$104.94 million was impressively in line with both of the recent holiday months: October (Golden week) at US$1059 million and the combined Jan/Feb (Chinese New Year) at US$104.8 million.”
The brokerage said it was now forecasting second quarter GGR “to accelerate” relative to first quarter, adding that it had increased its second quarter forecast by 200 basis points to +22%.
Govertsen added: “With GGR growth accelerating and both VIP and mass remaining above 20-% growth, we remain bullish on the market and have a high degree of confidence in our +17% GGR forecast for the year with a bias to the upside.”
Last month brokerage Deutsche Bank Securities Inc increased its forecast for the city’s casino sector performance in the April to June period, following a stronger-than-expected first quarter.
“On account of the upside to our March and first quarter 2018 forecasts, our second quarter GGR forecast goes to +15.3% from +14.2%,” said analysts Carlo Santarelli and Danny Valoy in a note on April 1. Their previous forecast was dated March 1.
Brokerage JP Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Ltd said in a memo last month that the Macau gaming market recovery “seems to be highly broad-based, encompassing all segments such as junkets (both big and small), premium/mid-tier mass, and grind mass”.
Source: GMB / GGR Asia
