[ET Net News Agency, 16 October 2018] HSBC Global Research lowered its target price for
Galaxy Entertainment (00027) to HK$67 from HK$81, and maintained its "buy" rating.
The research house said the summer holiday period is historically a good quarter for
Galaxy as there is strong demand for its swimming deck, but a weaker-than-expected hold
rate in both VIP and mass at Galaxy Macau may drag 3Q results.
However, HSBC believes Galaxy remains one of the most all-round operators in Macau and
has an excellent execution record. Most importantly, with Phase 3-4 of Galaxy Macau and
the Hengqin project in the pipeline, Galaxy has one of the best long-term growth profiles
of all Macau operators.
HSBC trimmed Galaxy's FY2018 market share assumption to account for competition from new
openings on Cotai. Along with lower market growth assumptions and accounting for the
potential impact from the smoking ban, HSBC trimmed its FY2018-20 earnings forecasts by
6%, 18% and 19%, respectively. (KL)