Greek giant OPAP down 33% in Q2 net profits

k lottery and betting operator OPAP announced this week that net profit decreased by one-third during the second quarter of this year.

Breaking down the figures, net profits were down to $26m in the three-month period ended June 30, dropping 33% compared to the same period last year. Revenue was down to $394m, decreasing over 2.5%, whilst earnings dived nearly 24%, down to $52m in Q2 2017.

Additionally, total betting revenue was only down 1.2% to $111m. Lottery, OPAP’s main product, posted more losses: revenues decreased more than 8%, down to $229m. Despite these financial results, Instant and Passives reported 6.6% increase in revenues, up to $46m; whilst video lottery machines (VLTs) added $8.9m.

OPAP CEO Damian Cope said that one of the reasons why the numbers fell during the second quarter is that revenue declined and costs of new products increased.

This news comes after the government of Greece proposed a reduction in the number of VLTs that OPAP should be allowed to manage last month. According to Reuters, the company would have to reduce the total of machines to 25,000, down from the 35,000 the country’s current legislation stipulates.

Despite this amendment, OPAP said that it will conclude the roll-out of 16,500 VLTs by May 2018. Furthermore, the company plans to subcontract an additional 18,000 machines. The operator has already signed multiple partnership agreements with Scientific Games, Inspired Gaming, IGT, and Synot Group for the completion of its plan.