Galaxy Entertainment Group saw mass-market revenue growth of almost 300 percent in March as they continue to laud the success of their Galaxy Macau casino. The figures, obtained by Business Daily, was compared with last year when the venue wasn’t yet open and there was also an almost 100 percent improvement in VIP revenue in March. Galaxy Macau opened in May last year and Sands China will be hoping for similarly impressive figures next year when their Sands Cotai Central venue has been open for a year. Business Daily also reported that SJM Holdings saw a 2.2 percent fall in revenues compared with the previous March. That in could be a sign of things to come for SJM.
April’s gaming industry revenue growth has been slower than expected for the first nine days of the month. Nomura analyst Harry Curtis wrote an investors note, quoted by Bloomberg, stating that at its current rate the growth for the month will only reach MOP25 billion (US$3.1 billion). Curtis added that Sands Cotai Central is a significant light at the end of a short tunnel and he sees it helping April to achieve gaming revenue of MOP25.5 billion to MOP26 billion, up 24 to 27 percent compared with the previous year.
Macau’s government is keeping the purse strings tight as it was revealed they’re only spending 20.6 percent of their revenue. Data released by the Financial Services Bureau, stated that of the MOP29.6 billion (US$3.7 billion) raked in – an increase of 21.5 percent year-on-year – spending was just MOP6.1 billion. Of every MOP100 raked in, MOP88 came from direct taxes on the gaming industry.
