Macau casinos seen posting combined US$823m quarterly loss

[HONG KONG] Macau casino operators are expected to post a combined loss of more than US$800 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) for the quarter ended Sept 30, according to a Bloomberg survey of analyst estimates.

Each of the six operators, which start reporting earnings in the coming weeks, will likely show negative quarterly Ebitda, according to the survey of seven brokerages. SJM Holdings and MGM China Holdings are expected to report the biggest percentage changes from a year earlier.

Macau's casino industry has seen gaming revenue plunge by no less than 90 per cent for six straight months as the pandemic forced countries to shut borders.

A slow recovery is underway after China gradually lifted travel restrictions over the past quarter and formed a travel bubble with the world's largest gambling hub. Mainland Chinese visitor arrivals during the Golden Week holiday were still 84 per cent lower compared with a year earlier.

Data of Sands, Wynn, Melco and MGM are property Ebitda, while those of Galaxy and SJM are company Ebitda.

BLOOMBERG