Operator News
France – Groupe Partouche reports recovery in the second half
By Phil - 31 January 2022
French operator Groupe Partouche experienced a sharp drop in its 2020/2021 financial year although the second half saw an upturn in business.
The Partouche group published its annual results for the 2020/2021 financial year on January 26 with the year marked by a recovery in the second half, after more than six and a half months of closure, with a turnover of €255.7m
The 2020/2021 financial year ‘was very strongly marked by the health crisis linked to the Covid-19 epidemic, which forced the Group to stop most of its activities over a period slightly longer than the first half of the year. exercise, under the general measures taken by the Government to deal with the epidemic. This represented, with some exceptions, approximately 6.5 months of closure for all the Group’s casinos in fiscal year 2020/2021, compared to a cumulative period of closure of establishments of around three months during the fiscal year. previous. In addition, in both cases, the opening periods and the operating methods of the activities were greatly disrupted by the continuation of the health crisis and the resulting constraints.’
As a result, GGR fell by 33.4 per cent over the year to €350.2m. This decline is attributable to the decline in the GGR of slot machines ( down 41.8 per cent) and the GGR of traditional games (down 10.2 per cent). Only the GGR of traditional games abroad increased (up 39.9 per cent) driven by the jump in online games and sports betting in Belgium (despite the cessation of activity at the end of July 2021) and new online games in Switzerland (up 54.8 per cent) which took advantage of the context of confinement and closure.
The exceptional operational performance of the second half made it possible to generate an EBITDA of €55m over the period and to reach an annual EBITDA of €130m (compared to €51.2m in 2020). The current operating profit (ROC) is a loss of €46.4m, down €38.1m compared to 2020 as the direct consequence of the closures of casinos on turnover.
Partouche said that its Hyères casino will be partially renovated by 2024 with redevelopments planned for the casinos of Saint Amand-les-Eaux, Forges-les-Eaux, La Tour-de-Salvagny , Annemasse, Palavas-les Flots and La Grande Motte.
