April 30, 2021
The introduction into Macau of a digital version of the yuan currency currently being trialled by the government of China should prove to be a long-term positive for the city’s collection of almost 40 casinos.
According to a report from GGRAsia, this is the opinion of Sanford C Bernstein Limited analyst Vitaly Umansky some two weeks after officials in the enclave revealed that they would be amending local financial rules so as to allow for the complete adoption of the blockchain-powered innovation. The source detailed that the app-based ‘digital yuan’ currency is set to be controlled by the People’s Bank of China and will allow the central government to trace the movement of all cash and coins in circulation and know the full details of goods and services being purchased.
Casino operator Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd posted a net loss of US$232.9 million for the three months to March 31, an improvement on the US$364.0-million loss recorded a year earlier. The result was however worse than the US$199.7-million loss reported in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to a Wednesday filing to Nasdaq.
Melco Resorts run gaming operations in Macau; in Manila, in the Philippines; and in the Republic of Cyprus.
The company’s total operating revenues for the period between January and March were US$518.9 million, down slightly from the US$528.0-million revenue achieved in the fourth quarter 2020. Such revenue was down 36.0 percent from US$811.2 million in the prior-year period.
GGRAsia – Macau tourism has lower value gaming clients: brokerage ggrasia.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ggrasia.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Macau casino operator Sands China Ltd says its adjusted property earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) more than doubled in the first three months of 2021 from the preceding quarter, mostly due to a rebound in premium-mass revenue.
The Macau unit of United States-based gaming group Las Vegas Sands Corp saw its adjusted property EBITDA hit US$100 million in the first quarter, compared to US$47 million in fourth-quarter 2020. The first-quarter figure was 49.3-percent higher than a year earlier.
Hong Kong-based analyst Andrew Lee of Jefferies LLC, said in a Thursday note that Sands China’s EBITDA had improved sequentially in the first quarter, to the “highest level since the pandemic started, and higher than both our and consensus estimates”.
GGRAsia – Macau gaming demand recovering comfortably: analysts ggrasia.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ggrasia.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.