Key points:
- Revenue for the nine-month period ending at the end of September totalled €2.1bn ($2.27bn), up 11.9% year-on-year
- Q3 revenue came to €669m, up 14.2% year-on-year
- The results follow FDJ completing its requirements to acquire Kindred, now holding close to 92% of Kindred shares
La Française des Jeux (FDJ) has reported its Q3 and year-to-date financial results for 2024. In total, revenue for the period to the end of September totalled €2.1bn ($2.27bn), up 11.9% year-on-year or 5.8% on a like-for-like basis, while revenue for the quarter contributed €669m, up 14.2% year-on-year or 8% on a like-for-like basis.
Including France and Ireland, point-of-sales revenue was up 8.6%. Digital revenue saw a sizeable increase, up 39.3% year-on-year or 24.8% on a like-for-like basis to €302m.
In France, revenue for the period to the end of September totalled €1.9bn, up 8%, which includes FDJ’s exclusive lottery and sports betting, and its online gaming, which is open to competition. Point-of-sale revenue in France specifically was up 2.7%.
A like-for-like basis excludes the contributions of Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI) and Zeturf over 2024 and Sporting's B2C over 2023.
Good to know: FDJ completed its acquisition of Kindred in October after it was first proposed in January of this year
FDJ by segment – Lottery
Looking at FDJ’s lottery segment, for the first nine months of 2024, revenue came to €1.5bn, up 6.6% on both a year-on-year and like-for-like basis; an indicator that lottery was minimally impacted by M&A activity from the past year. This is also reflected in the operator’s Q3 results, with lottery making €495m, up 10% on both a year-on-year and like-for-like basis.
By game in the nine-month period, instant game revenue grew 7.8%, in part due to the launch of Ticket d'Or and Maxi Black Jack in January and May respectively. Draw game revenue was up 4.7% (9.9% excluding Amigo), driven in part by the success of FDJ’s EuroDreams product.
FDJ by segment – Sports betting and online gaming
Sports betting and online gaming made €407m for the period to the end of September, up 13.3% year-on-year or 5% on a like-for-like basis. This may have been impacted by the acquisition of Zeturf in October 2023, an online horseracing betting provider, as well as the sale of several verticals from its Sporting Solutions brand to Betsson in August as part of offloading efforts in the wake of FDJ’s Kindred acquisition efforts.
Online business grew by a notable 28.4% on a like-for-like basis; higher than the like-for-like basis when combined with results from Ireland.
FDJ by segment – International and payment & services
This segment, which includes revenues made outside of France, reached €190m for the period up to the end of September, up from the €108m reported last year. While no year-on-year change was reported, on a like-for-like basis this reflects a drop of 3.4%, while for Q3 revenue came to €61m, a 2.1% increase on a like-for-like basis.
PLI, which was acquired in November 2023, may have played a notable part in this and may explain why FDJ was unable to report the year-on-year revenue change for this segment, as the brand was not operating under FDJ this time last year.
Kindred acquisition
In early October it was reported that FDJ had acquired 90.7% of Kindred shares, which as of the release of the operator's Q3 report has risen to 91.8%. The acquisition, which was announced earlier this year, was predicted at a value of €2.6bn when first announced in January. Having completed its requirement to acquire over 90% of Kindred stocks to complete the acquisition, FDJ now plans to increase its stock ownership to 100%, following the extension of its tender offer period.
This week also saw several Kindred Board members announce their resignation following the acquisition, with new Board members being appointed by Kindred. Resignations included Chairman Evert Carlsson.
Comments
On the results, FDJ Chairwoman and CEO Stéphane Pallez said: “FDJ continues to deliver a solid financial and non-financial performance, which allows us to confirm our growth and profitability trend for the year as a whole. This performance was driven both by the lottery and by sports betting and online gaming open to competition, and by all our distribution channels, with a network of points of sale in progression and strong momentum from digital games.
"The group also reached a major milestone in the implementation of its strategy with the completion of the Kindred acquisition in early October, creating a European champion with a diversified and balanced profile for the benefit of all our stakeholders.”
