Lottomatica has reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2024. In total, the group generated revenue of €440.1m ($471.1m) and a gross gaming revenue (GGR) of €1.01bn, up 4% (or 16% at normalised payout) and 1% year-on-year respectively.
Adjusted EBITDA totalled €149.5m with an annual decline of 4%, while adjusted net profit fell 24.1% for a total of €49.7m.
Revenue by segment
Breaking down the quarter’s €440.1m revenue by segment, gaming franchises contributed the most significantly, making €195.3m, or 44.4%, of the revenue. Despite this contribution, this segment did not experience the most significant growth, up just 4% annually. The online segment, meanwhile, grew 21% annually, making €150.4m, or 34.2%, of the quarter's revenue.
Sports franchise revenue fell 15% year-on-year, with a total of €94.4m made in the quarter. The report stated this decline was due to ‘unfavourable payout registered in the first quarter,’ similar to performance in the US this year, where a fall was reported by several sportsbooks in relation to the outcome of February’s Super Bowl.
The adjusted EBITDA of these segments showed similar results, with gaming franchise adjusted EBITDA up 4% and online adjusted EBITDA up 7%, making €46.9m and €82.9m respectively. Sports franchise adjusted EBITDA fell a notable 40%, making €19.7m.
Normalised payout
Normalised payout calculates Lottomatica’s Q1 earnings on the premise of a sports bet payout of 79.7% in retail locations and 86.4% from betting online. As mentioned earlier, on this basis, revenue was up 16% year-on-year, while adjusted EBITDA was up 23%, as opposed to –4%.
Bets
In total, Lottomatica took €8.73bn in bets in Q1 2024, up 20% year-on-year. The online segment was described as having ‘overperformed’ in this quarter, growing 36% annually with bets equaling €5.06bn. Sports franchises were up 10% to €0.82bn, while gaming franchises remained relatively stagnant, up 1% year-on-year for a total of €2.86bn.
Guidance
Following the operator's €639m acquisition of SKS365 in November (which was completed in April), guidance for the company’s FY24 revenue, which includes an eight-month contribution from the omnichannel betting platform, totaled €2.02bn - €2.07bn, with an adjusted EBITDA guidance of €680m - €700m. SKS365’s adjusted EBITDA is predicted to reach €80m, up 11% year-on-year.
Comments
On the results, Lottomatica CEO Guglielmo Angelozzi said: “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.”
