January Gaming Data: How Did Vegas Compare To Macau?

Macau delivered its first gaming revenue data point of 2017 on Wednesday, starting out the year with its sixth consecutive month of year-over-year revenue gains.

The latest data from the Macao Gaming and Coordination Bureau reveals that Macau brought in 19.2 billion patacas in December, up 3.1 percent year-over-year. Prior to last August's 1.1 percent gain, Macau had registered 26 consecutive year-over-year monthly revenue declines.

The January Macau revenue number fell short of consensus analyst expectations of 8.5 percent growth for the month. Macau recorded 8 percent revenue growth in December.

Shares of resort operators Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd (ADR) MPEL, Las Vegas Sands Corp. LVS, MGM Resorts International MGM and Wynn Resorts, Limited WYNN were all trading lower in Wednesday’s pre-market session.

Positive Momentum

With six consecutive months of positive growth in the books and weak comps ahead in early 2017, Macau finally seems to be headed in the right direction once again.

February 2015 marked the "high point" for gaming revenue declines during the downturn at -48.6 percent. June 2016’s GGR of only 15.8 billion patacas represented the monthly low for revenue during the downturn and was the lowest monthly total Macau had recorded since September 2010.

In addition to the 3.1 percent growth in Macau’s market in January, Las Vegas also delivered monthly data this week. Taxable revenue from the Las Vegas Strip was up 1.3 percent In December and finished out 2016 up 2.1 percent. Historic Downtown Las Vegas finished 2016 with 3.9 percent revenue growth on the year.

Disclosure: The author is long MPEL.