Macau casinos collect $2.5 billion in February gaming revenues

Macau's casino industry in February, helped by the lucrative Chinese New Year holiday, collected roughly $2.5 billion in gaming revenues during month.

Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau reported Tuesday the revenues were a 48 percent increase compared with February 2010.

February's gaming revenues of 19.9 billion Macau patacas exceeded the record 18.9 billion Macau patacas collected last December. The results were not a surprise to Wall Street as American-based Macau casino operators all reported seeing strong levels of play during the Chinese New Year festivities.

"This was in line with our expectations following a massive Chinese New Year period," said Union Gaming Group Principal Grant Govertsen, who is based in Macau.

Revenue growth in February was higher than the 33 percent growth rate posted in January.

Analysts estimated that casinos operated by Hong Kong billionaire Stanley Ho collected roughly 32 percent of the gaming revenues while the three properties owned by Las Vegas Sands Corp. garnered an 18 percent market share.

The two casinos operated by Wynn Resorts Ltd. collected almost 15 percent of the market while the MGM Grand Macau was estimated to have about 11 percent of the market.

Analysts said the double-digit month gaming revenue increases may disappear as the year continues because of the booming growth in 2010 where Macau's 33 large and small casinos collected $23.4 billion in U.S. dollars, a 58 percent increase from 2009.

"We believe the Macau February casino revenues were consistent with market expectations given the unofficial indications of trends in the plus 50 percent range," said Jefferies & Co. gaming analyst David Katz. "We view the results as bullish given the challenging year-over-year comparison ... given our forecasts for each of the Macau properties and the operator's respective (cash flow) exposure to the market."

However, Govertsen estimated Macau's casinos could see full-year gaming revenues of $28.7 billion, which would be a 22 percent year-over-year increase.

"Based on a variety of factors, mainly positive, this might prove conservative," Govertsen said.