December Gaming Win Figures: Vegas Vs. Macau

Macau delivered its final gaming revenue data point of 2016 over the weekend, closing out the year with its fifth consecutive month of year-over-year revenue gains.

The latest data from the Macao Gaming and Coordination Bureau reveals that Macau brought in 19.8 billion patacas in December, up 8.0 percent year-over-year. Prior to August's 1.1 percent gain, Macau had registered 26 consecutive year-over-year monthly revenue declines.

This month’s revenue gain came as a relief to investors concerned that the government’s new limit on single ATM card transactions would make a meaningful impact on gaming.

The December Macau revenue number fell just shy of consensus analyst expectations of 9 percent growth for the month.

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 trading slightly higher in Tuesday’s pre-market session.

A Strong Finish

With five consecutive months of positive growth in the books and weak comps ahead in early 2017, it seems clear that the recovery in Macau is well underway.

February 2015 marked the "high point" for gaming revenue declines at -48.6 percent. June'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 a strong Q4 in Macau’s market, Las Vegas also delivered another solid month in November. Taxable revenue from the Las Vegas Strip was up 3.4 percent on the month and is now up 6.3 percent since the beginning of the new fiscal year in September. In the past 12 months, Vegas Strip revenue is up 3.1 percent overall.

Disclosure: The author is long MPEL.