In a review of the French casino operator’s financial performance for the 12-month period, the company credited its substantial losses to the Covid-19 pandemic.

For more than half of the year, Groupe Partouche experienced closures which had a significant adverse impact on its business. With some exceptions, all of the company’s casinos were closed for approximately 6.5 months.

Consequently, almost all business segments suffered a decline. Groupe Partouche’s slots GGR fell by nearly 42%, while revenue from table games dropped by 10%.

Only the GGR from table games abroad experienced an increase. This rose by almost 40%, driven by a jump in online gaming and sports betting in Belgium.

“The 2020/21 fiscal year was very strongly impacted by the health crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced the group to stop most of its activities over a period slightly longer than the first half of the fiscal year, under the general measures taken by the government to deal with the pandemic,” said Groupe Partouche.

The closures’ effect was so bad that 82% of the company’s consolidated turnover was generated in the second half of the year.

However, in what Groupe Partouche called a “contrasting year”, its performance in H2 was markedly improved. The company’s EBITDA for H2 was €55m, up from €51.2m for the prior year.

Likewise, the closures, alongside business support measures, led to a reduction in expenses. Materials, marketing and maintenance costs experienced a 34% drop, while employee expenses were down by nearly 24%.

In its outlook for 2022, Groupe Partouche will resume investments, saying: “After two years of the pandemic and the cessation of investments, the group is relaunching its program in order to enrich its offer and renovate its casino network.”