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Sales at Macau casino operator MGM China Holdings fell 3.6% quarter-on-quarter in the three months to June 30, according to a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Thursday.

MGM China's second-quarter revenue was slightly below HK$7.96 billion (US$1.02 billion), compared with HK$8.26 billion in the first quarter. Q2 revenue was up 37.0% year-over-year.

MGM China operates MGM Macau Realty located on the Macau Peninsula, and MGM Kotai located in Kotai's newest casino district. The company is majority - shareholder of U.S.-based casino company MGM Resorts International.

Adjusted net income before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for Macau's unit was just over HK$2.44 billion in the three months to June 30, down 2.5% from nearly HK$2.55 billion in the first quarter.

Year-over-year, these Q2 EBITDAs were up 39.8%.

JP Morgan Securities (Asia-Pacific) said in a note on Thursday: "[MGM China's] adjusted real estate EBITDA was only 2% lower quarter-over-quarter...recovering seasonality and same-industry momentum (minus 4% to 5% quarter-over-quarter average versus JP Morgan estimates)."

Despite MGM China's "high base last quarter," which hit "all-time highs," analysts Kim, Mupan Shi and Selina Lee said it was "all-time highs."

MGM Macau's main floor table gaming decline was HK$14.3 billion quarter-on-quarter, flat against HK$14.44 billion in the first three months.

However, VIP rolling chip sales, a volume indicator of the so-called "dead chip" used in high roller play, fell sharply quarter-on-quarter. In the second quarter, it was HK$8.31 billion, down 31.6% from HK$12.15 billion in the first quarter.

The sequential decline in rolling chip volumes was more pronounced at MGM Cotai. Its second-quarter numbers were just shy of HK$23.62 billion (a 55.4% decrease from HK$53 billion in the first quarter).

MGM Kotai's main floor table gaming decline reached HK$15.65 billion in the second quarter, up 1.3% quarter-on-quarter.

MGM China, a Hong Kong-listed company, reports earnings on a mid- and full-year basis and provides quarterly highlights.

The company said in a press release on Thursday that its adjusted EBITDA margin in the first half was 30.5%, a "high" compared with 29.7% in the same period in 2023 and 27.2% in 2019.

MGM China said of the first six months of trading: "Property visits are up 85% year-over-year, representing 153% in 2019.

"For the period, net income rose 52% year-over-year to HK$16.2 billion, up 144% in the same period of 2019."

The company said: "We are pleased to see a further increase in market share [in total gaming revenue] to 16.5% over the [six months] from 14.9% a year ago and 9.5% in 2019.