Lottomatica Group: 30% rise in first quarter net income
Lottomatica Group S.p.A.’s Board of Directors, chaired by Mr. Lorenzo Pellicioli, today approved the consolidated financial statements for the first quarter which ended March 31, 2013. “We delivered another solid set of results in the first quarter. And we made significant progress toward implementing our new operating model, under which we will act as a single, unified customer-facing company that can meet the evolving needs of our customers in an effective and efficient manner,” said Marco Sala, CEO of Lottomatica Group. “The senior leadership of the Company has embraced and adapted to their new roles. Earlier today, our shareholders approved the adoption of the ‘GTECH’ name, effective June 3. Going forward we will operate under the GTECH banner, one of the most respected and valued brands in the global gaming industry, under the ticker symbol GTK.”
Written by Redazione GiocoNews
“Our first-quarter results were in line with our expectations,” said Alberto Fornaro, CFO of Lottomatica Group. “We generated substantial growth in net income attributable to the parent and EPS, up 30%. Combined EBITDA growth from both our Italian and International operations positions us to achieve our year-end targets. In particular, we are on-track on our target for net financial position, following the expected deleveraging in the second half.”
THE ITALIAN OPERATIONS - Total revenues from Italian Operations were €464 million compared to €482 million in the first quarter of 2012. The reduction in revenues was mitigated by lower sports betting payouts and higher wagers for late numbers and 10eLotto. EBITDA grew by €9 million to €213 million.
Overall Lotto wagers for the quarter grew 2% to €1.60 billion compared to €1.57 billion last year. Lotto late number wagers increased to €120 million, compared to €87 million in first quarter last year.
Instant-ticket wagers were in line with expectations at approximately €2.55 billion, compared to €2.62 billion in the same period last year. Approximately 525 million Scratch & Win tickets were sold in the quarter, with an average price point of €4.85.
Revenues from Sports Betting were up 19% to €57 million due to lower payouts.
Machine Gaming revenues were €147 million versus €169 million last year as a result of the VLT tax increase and productivity impacts.
GTECH LOTTERY AND SPIELO INTERNATIONAL - Total GTECH Lottery revenue for the first quarter of 2013 was €229 million compared to €237 million in the first quarter of 2012. Several initiatives have been put in place both in the U.S. and abroad that will further drive same store revenue growth. The Powerball game was recently introduced in California, with the Florida Lottery joining the Mega Millions game in May. Specific initiatives to grow sales in conjunction with GTECH customers continue to be in place in several U.S. jurisdictions, including innovations and optimizations in lottery and instant games.
Internationally, the U.K. Lottery is benefiting from retailer expansion efforts executed in 2012, while several jurisdictions including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland are significantly leveraging price-point increases to grow instant ticket sales. Same store revenues in Argentina and Mexico are being driven by price-point increases and jackpot activity, respectively.
Total revenues for SPIELO International were €112 million, a 61% increase versus last year, primarily due to higher product sales which were up 138%. Service revenue for SPIELO increased approximately 6% in the quarter versus 2012 principally due to higher central system maintenance revenues and higher revenues from the Italian VLT market associated with the deployment of additional VLTs.
Combined EBITDA for GTECH and SPIELO grew €13.4 million as a result of higher product sales, partially offset by lower jackpot activity.