Macau’s casino industry EBITDA for 3Q above 2019 levels

In the third quarter, Macau’s casino sector had a higher industry-wide margin for property profits before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) than during the same period in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. The EBITDA margin for the industry as a whole increased to 29.3% in the three months that ended on September 30, 2019, from 29.0% in the same period in 2019. At slightly under $1.80 billion, overall property EBITDA was still around 20.0% less than in 2019, but the higher margin suggests improved operating efficiency.

Macau’s mass-market gross gaming revenue (GGR) exceeded 95% of pre-COVID levels from July to September, according to estimates by Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli. These figures were made public after all six Macau gambling companies disclosed their third-quarter financial results. The combined mass GGR for the third quarter of 2019 was $5.35 billion, up 760.0% year over year but down 4.3% from the same period in 2019.

But when compared to the same time in 2019, VIP GGR decreased by around 77.0% in the third quarter, ending at $722 million. It was still an 848.7% increase over the prior year despite the decline. The local gaming authority said that the total GGR for the quarter was up 779.6% year over year but down 31% from the third quarter of 2019. It came in at little under $6.11 billion.

In October, Macau’s gross domestic product (GGR) increased by 30.6% month over month to reach just over MOP19.50 billion ($2.42 billion), the highest monthly result since the pandemic started in January 2020. Over the first 10 months of 2023, the overall GGR was about MOP148.45 billion, a 315.6% increase over the same period in 2022.

Original story by: GGRAsia