Kate O'Keeffe
HONG KONG--Gambling revenue in Macau rose 12% in June from a
year earlier, as the rate of growth in the Chinese territory
continued to moderate from the highly aggressive pace seen in
previous years.
Total revenue in June stood at 23.33 billion patacas ($2.92
billion), up 12% from 20.79 billion patacas the same month a year
earlier, Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau said
Monday. The rate of growth rebounded from May's 7% on-year rise but
still came in a tad below analyst expectations.
In the first six months of the year, revenue rose 20% from the
same period a year earlier to 148.7 billion patacas.
Gambling revenue growth has shot up since the end of 2009, but
analysts expect the pace to slow this year due to a high base of
comparison last year and concern about the sustainability of strong
growth in VIP play amid liquidity concerns in China. The most
bearish 2012 gambling revenue growth estimates for the territory
hover around 11%, compared with growth of 42% in 2011.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Billy Ng wrote in a Monday
note that he wasn't sure whether the slowdown in the second half of
June was due to temporary issues--such as the European soccer
tournament which may have diverted gamblers from Macau, bad luck at
the casino tables or a typhoon that struck June 29--or structural
issues such as a weakening Chinese economy. However, he noted the
11% drop in revenue from May was typical for June.
Macau, the only place in China where casino gambling is legal,
is the world's largest gambling center. Last year it earned more
than five times the gambling revenue of the Las Vegas Strip.
-By Kate O'Keeffe, Dow Jones Newswires; 852-2802-7002; kathryn.okeeffe@dowjones.com