Gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the three months through to 30 September increased by 14.0% to a record €876.2m. The breakdown of performance showed that numerical lotteries, video lottery terminals and casinos, sports betting, and igaming all experienced growth in GGR. Numerical lotteries brought in €371.1m, video lottery terminals and casinos generated €194.6m, sports betting reached €148.5m, and igaming more than doubled to €101.5m. The remaining GGR of €60.5m came from instant lotteries. Geographically, the majority of GGR came from Greece and Cyprus, with GGR across the two markets rising 20.3% to €470.4m. GGR from Austria increased by 2.0% to €309.1m, while GGR from the Czech Republic increased by 28.7% to €96.4m.
After accounting for gaming taxes, net gaming revenue amounted to €541.0m, up 18.7% from the same period last year. Expenses were up across all areas except personnel, with agent commission fees at €123.7m, materials, consumables and services at €119.4m, marketing at €46.4m, and other operating costs at €28.7m. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 40.0% to €285.1m. Pre-tax profit was €197.5m, up 182.1% year-on-year. After tax payments of €46.0m, the net profit reached €151.1m, an increase of 190.8%.
Looking at the nine months to 30 September, net gaming revenue was higher by 43.9%, reaching €1.27bn. GGR also hiked 50.8% year-on-year to €2.14bn. Pre-tax profit for the period increased by 223.0% to €406.0m, resulting in a net profit of €324.9m after tax payments of €81.1m, an increase of 245.3% from last year. Despite some new restrictions introduced by governments after the end of the period, Sazka Group remains optimistic about the outlook for Q4, supported by strong trading in most of its businesses and in the online channel.
Sazka Entertainment, the parent company of Sazka Group, recently rebranded its entire business as Allwyn to reflect its evolution from a pan-European lottery operator into a global business. The brand will be extended across the whole business, while individual brands will continue to operate without any changes. In April, Sazka announced its intention to bring together its UK operations under the new Allwyn corporate identity as it bids for the market’s latest National Lottery licence.
