Lottomatica Group has reported a four per cent revenue uptick in the first quarter of 2024, with a 20 per cent year-over-year growth in bets.
Reflecting on the financials, CEO Guglielmo Angelozzi noted that the Italian operator has continued its path of organic growth to open 2024. He also highlighted that group guidance for the year has been adjusted to account for the completed acquisition of SKS365 in April.
Publishing its Q1 results, Lottomatica declared €8.7bn in bets, up 20 per cent compared to the same period last year (Q1 2023: €7.3bn).
The operator reported a GGR – bets net of payout – of €1.01bn, up one per cent YoY, with a total online market share of 21.6 per cent (up 2.9 percentage points YoY), an isports market share of 21.2 per cent (up 3.1 percentage points YoY) and an igaming market share of 21.8 per cent (up 2.9 percentage points YoY).
Revenue for Lottomatica at the end of Q1 stood at €440.1m, a four per cent rise when compared to the same period the previous year (2023: €422.3m).
Adjusted EBITDA for the operator fell by four per cent YoY to €149.5m (2023: €155.8m), with a margin of 34 per cent (2023: 36.9 per cent) “driven by unfavourable payout registered in the first quarter”.
By the end of Q1, Lottomatica’s operating cash flow stood at €110.1m (2023: €138.5m) following an adjusted EBITDA decrease and higher concession payments, while adjusted net profit was €49.7m. Net financial debt was €1.22bn.
Following the end of the quarter, Lottomatica completed its acquisition of SKS365, which has in turn adjusted its guidance for FY 2024 to include eight months of contribution from the new addition.
For FY24, the operator is expecting revenue to fall in the range of €2.02bn to €2.06bn and an adjusted EBITDA range of €680m to €700m.
Angelozzi commented: “In the first quarter of 2024, we have continued our path of organic growth, also supported by solid market tailwinds, with revenues and EBITDA achieving double-digit growth YoY (at normalised payout).
“We have successfully completed the acquisition of SKS365 in April 2024, therefore upgraded the guidance, and continue to execute on our strong pipeline of bolt-on M&A.”
Bets per segment, online saw the majority of bets at €5.1bn, a 36 per cent improvement YoY (2023: €3.7bn), followed by gaming franchises (arcades, lotto, and VLT) at €2.86bn, up one per cent (2023: €2.83bn), and sports franchises at €822m, a 10 per cent uptick (2023: €749m).
Breaking down revenues by segment, gaming franchise stood at €195.3m, up four per cent in comparison to the same period last year (2023: €187.7m), while online rose by 21 per cent to €150.4m (2023: €124.2m) thanks to a “strong double-digit performance driven by the market share growth across all product segments and brands”.
However, sports franchise revenue dropped by 15 per cent to €94.4m (2023: €110.4m) following “unfavourable payout registered in the first quarter”.
