Citigroup lowers Macau's February gaming revenue forecast to MOP 19.5 billion

Citi published a research report indicating that, according to industry sources, the total gaming revenue in Macau for the first 22 days of February may have reached approximately MOP 14.3 billion. This means that the average daily revenue last week was about MOP 786 million, which is about 8% higher than the average daily gaming revenue on January 26 (approximately MOP 730 million), and about 45% higher than the average revenue for the week of February 9 (approximately MOP 543 million).

The bank noted that although the gaming revenue performance during the fourth to sixth days of the Lunar New Year was strong, averaging about MOP 1.2 billion to MOP 1.3 billion per day, the win rate in VIP rooms during the first four days of that week was significantly lower than normal levels. According to industry sources, the gaming volume in VIP rooms fell by about 8% to 10% month-on-month, while mass gaming revenue declined by about 10% to 12% month-on-month.

Due to the weaker-than-expected trend before the Lunar New Year, the bank has revised its February gaming revenue forecast down from MOP 20 billion to MOP 19.5 billion, representing a year-on-year decline of 1%, which implies an average daily gaming revenue of about MOP 867 million for the remainder of the month. The bank's forecast for the combined gaming revenue from January to February (excluding the factors related to the different timing of the Lunar New Year this year and last year) is now MOP 42.1 billion, reflecting an annual growth of 11%