Macau’s gross gaming revenue is expected to return to positive growth in the fourth quarter, said UBS analysts in a note over the weekend.
According to the brokerage, repeated delays in the opening of Wynn Palace, which is now scheduled to open in late Q3 rather than Q1, as well as The Parisian’s mid-September opening, were the main reasons for pushing its estimated inflection point from Q3 to Q4.
“We believe the upcoming projects are set to open in an overall stabilising demand environment, as operators continue to focus on gross margins driven by continued mix shift to mass and disciplined cost environment. We believe the mass segment in Macau is showing improvement with YOY declines lessening, albeit at a slower rate than our previous estimates,” said analysts.
“For the market overall, we now forecast Macau gross gaming revenue growth to turn positive in Q4, up around two per cent, driven by a 13 per cent year-on-year increase in mass/slot and partially offset by an 11 per cent decline in VIP,” it added.
