JP Morgan reports that Macau’s premium mass gross gaming revenue (GGR) has rebounded to 110% of its pre-Covid levels.

Macau’s premium mass gross gaming revenue (GGR) has exceeded 2019 levels, the period before the Covid-19 pandemic, as confirmed by JP Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Ltd in response to the official announcement of Macau’s overall GGR figures for August.

Original Story by GGR ASIA

The August aggregate of MOP17.21 billion (US$2.13 billion), which increased by 3.3% month-on-month, was described as “another post-pandemic high” and had recovered to 71% of pre-Covid-19 levels, according to analysts DS Kim, Mufan Shi, and Selina Li in a memo.

They noted that this data implied a daily run-rate of MOP555 million for August, surpassing the daily run-rate of MOP500 million in the second quarter of the year and MOP537 million in July. JP Morgan also reported that mass GGR had recovered to 93% to 94% of pre-Covid-19 levels in August, compared to the high-80s in the second quarter and low-90s in July.

The brokerage firm estimated that the recovery in August’s mass GGR was driven by a remarkable “110-percent recovery in premium mass” compared to pre-Covid-19 levels. The recovery rate for base mass in August stood at 75% to 80% of pre-Covid-19 levels, they added.

Regarding VIP GGR, JP Morgan noted that it had improved to “28 percent to 29 percent” of pre-Covid-19 levels in August, up from a 23 percent to 24 percent recovery rate in the second quarter.

However, JP Morgan analysts tempered expectations for Macau’s GGR in the current month, citing the shoulder season between the summer holidays and October Golden Week, as well as the impact of Typhoon Saola.

They mentioned that while the rooms at Macau casinos would likely be fully booked during the October Golden Week, it was challenging to predict the performance of the gaming sector during this period.