Loto-Quebec asserts that the group remains “well positioned” after three quarters of the fiscal year, after narrowly meeting or exceeding annual targets due to activities being suspended on December 20.
For the September 28 to December 27 time frame, revenue and net income increased 90 per cent and 70.1 per cent to C$619.85m (2020: C$364.37m) and C$324.66m (2020: C$146.95m), respectively.
The group says that the results are “very satisfactory” given the public health measures that were in place, which included a reduction in capacity and hours of operation, as well as the suspension of most activities as of the aforementioned date.
For the year-to date, revenue increased 61.9 per cent to C1.7bn (2020: C$1.05bn), with net income securing a 176.9 per cent uptick to C$908.66m (2020: C$328.17m).
Revenue and consolidated net income reached 81 per cent and 84 per cent of their pre-pandemic levels, respectively, with gaming locations open for less than 75 per cent of the first three quarters of the current fiscal year.
Jean-François Bergeron, President and CEO of Loto-Québec, explained: “The pandemic may have slowed us down, but it hasn’t stopped us. I’m extremely proud of the work of all our teams. Their efforts contributed greatly to our strong results.
“After three quarters, the lottery sector is reporting record revenues. We paid out 105 prizes of C$1m or more since the beginning of the fiscal year, creating 89 new millionaires.
“We were pleased to welcome the winners of a $50m Lotto Max jackpot to the new premises housing our prize claim office and the Salon de jeux de Québec, in Beauport.
“This new location opened its doors on November 29. Customers were thrilled with the result, as were we.
“We have continued our approach of solidarity with the community in various ways. For example, we donated food when our casinos closed and masks to community organisations.
“In addition, we donated C$750,000 to Québec non-profit organisations through our first charity lottery game, loto-o-suivant, and our Play to Give promotion in casinos and gaming halls.”
On a sector by sector basis, revenue in the lottery division dropped 4.6 per cent during Q3 to C$235m (2020: C$246.6m), with its year to date performance up 28.7 per cent year-on-year to a record C$748.85m (2020: C$581.66m).
For the third quarter, revenue in the Loto-Quebec casino and gaming hall sector reached C$208.54m, up 173.7 per cent from C$76.19m, when land-based activities were suspended for several days. For the year-to-date, revenue more than doubled to C$513.84m (2020: C$256.1m).
Revenue in the gaming establishment business through Q3 reached C$179.58m (2020: C$42m), while more that doubling through the first three quarters of the year to close at C$446.2m (2020: C$216m).
This difference, says Loto-Quebec, is mainly due to the closure of many bar establishments and the complete suspension of bingo and Kinzo activities as of mid-October 2020, which extended beyond the end of the quarter.
