Operator News
Greece – Closures take half off OPAP’s Q1 revenue but online props up results
By Phil - 20 May 2021
With a quarter full of COVID disruption, OPAP’s revenues fell by 46.9 per cent year-on-year to €174.2m, due to retail betting venues being shut for most of the quarter but online contributed significantly in Q1’21 coming in at €122.4m also aided by Kaizen Gaming full consolidation.
All OPAP shops in Greece have been fully open since April 12 under social distancing measures, while VLTs activity is expected to resume operations on May 24.
Gross Profit from gaming operations in Q1 2021 stood at €75.6m compared to €122.4m in Q1 2020 lower by 38.2 per cent following revenues’ decline. Numbers were also burdened by Hellenic Lotteries’ disproportional GGR contribution so as to meet the annual contractual threshold of €50m.
EBITDA in Q1 2021 stood at €61.3m versus €86.4m in Q1 2020 lower by 29 per cent assisted by the recognition of €45.5m income related to the extension of the concession agreement along with Kaizen Gaming contribution following its full consolidation. On a l-f-l basis and excluding one-off income in Q1 2021, EBITDA dropped by 43.8 per cent year-on-year.
Net profit in Q1 2021 stood at €10.3m versus €35.5m in Q1 2020 down by 71.1 per cent.
OPAP’s CEO Jan Karas said: “In the first quarter of the year, online demonstrated a record quarter achieving remarkable growth, while on the retail front, revenues were expectedly affected by the lockdown and stores’ closure across our networks. We are excited with both the OPAP stores re-opening on April 12th as well as the imminent VLTs activity restart. Performance wise the early signs are particularly encouraging for retail while at the same time our online business remains strong. Going forward, we remain committed to provide prime services to the clients across all channels setting the ground to offer a top class customer experience in the forthcoming large betting events like the UEFA Euro 2020.”
Revenues from lottery reached €36.7m in Q1 2021 versus €154.5m in Q1 2020, lower by 76.3 per cent year-on-year on the back of stores’ closure for the majority of the quarter.
Total betting revenues reached €82.4m in Q1 2021 versus €88m in Q1 2020 lower by 6.4 per cent year-on-year on the back of retail outlets’ closure. Online provided the bulk of the segment’s revenues mostly boosted by Kaizen Gaming full consolidation.
Following stores reopening the Board of Directors has revised upwards its proposal to the AGM for the 2020 DPS at €0.55 vs €0.45 initially.
