Operator News
IZI Group records exceptional growth
By Lewis - 23 October 2024
Malta-based IZI Group has announced record results across its businesses, including Malta’s National Lottery, Dragonara Casino and iGaming. G3 interviews Johann Schembri, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of IZI Group about the company’s financial results for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024.
Johann, IZI Group’s latest financial results are impressive. What are the key elements leading to such growth?
These exceptional results are the outcome of the strategy adopted by the Group over a number of years which has always been deeply customer-centric, with a keen focus on closely monitoring local market trends to stay attuned to evolving market needs. Given our diverse customer base, it is crucial for us to remain vigilant and adaptable, making changes that truly add value. Our comprehensive digital adoption and strong degree of innovation have always been at the heart of our Group’s approach.
The enhancements we’ve made and continue making to our product portfolio, coupled with our commitment to improving product accessibility, are two of the main drivers behind the success we achieved in FY2024.
What are the most salient achievements of the Group this year?
There is no doubt that the one word that epitomises our year in review is GROWTH. From a financial perspective the Group has managed to attain Year-On-Year (Y-O-Y) growth across all its Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). We attained a total turnover of €569m a notable Y-O-Y increase of 23 per cent, while ensuring a very strong return to players as player winnings reached €481 million, an increase of 24 per cent when compared to the same period last year.
Our Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) reached record levels of €86.5m, exceeding our own projections and the forecasts we had shared with the Capital Markets, representing an increase of 25 per cent over the previous year. This material growth in revenue was also complemented by a strong focus on cost optimisation and improved margins, leading to a record EBITDA for the year of €23.1m, constituting a growth of 68.2 per cent on the previous year.
The Group’s impressive growth must also be seen with the context of our ever-increasing and equally unprecedented commitment to Responsible Gaming and the rolling out of a robust Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Strategy, focusing predominantly on ethical practices, environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and transparent governance, aligning the Group’s expansion with sustainable, responsible operations.
The Group has been operating the National Lottery of Malta for just over two years. What achievements that you are most proud of?
National Lottery plc constitutes a key subsidiary of the Group. Facts speak louder than words and the easiest way to depict the achievements of National Lottery plc would be to highlight the remarkable financial results, starting from a 23 per cent increase in turnover, 34 per cent increase in player winnings, and 30 per cent increase in Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR).
Aside from the financial achievements, as the custodian of the national lottery of Malta we are also very pleased with some very important non-financial achievements. We are mostly proud that our efforts and commitment to security, integrity and responsible gaming practices have been recognised by the two (2) most important international lottery bodies, the World Lottery Association (WLA) and European Lotteries (EL), as National Lottery plc successfully achieved Responsible Gaming (RG) certification. Furthermore, we are pleased to announce that earlier this month, we were also awarded the prestigious ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification, a globally recognised standard, highlighting the company’s and Group’s commitment to operational excellence and security, amongst other.
Johann, what are your future aspirations?
The Group has always managed to grow over the years by adopting what is essentially a strategy that focuses on the local gaming market. Over the years we have nurtured our intellectual property and gained considerable experience across a very diversified portfolio of gaming operations. Within the context of the local market, we will sustain the work undertaken thus far to widen and strengthen the reach of our distribution network, thus making our offering more accessible in the marketplace. We are also very excited about the prospect of adding a pan-European lottery to our current lottery product, enriching the lottery product portfolio in the process.
We also have major plans for the Dragonara Casino, more specifically an expansion project through which we would be in a position to offer a more holistic and diversified casino experience.The flawless transition of the National Lottery from the previous concessionaire, our extensive experience operating the Dragonara Casino, our experience in creating and nurturing the IZIBET brand that over a few years has become Malta’s favourite sports betting brand, and very recently the launch of the first Historical Horse Racing (HHR) installation outside the USA, gives us the right set of tools to think about future international expansion.
Pursuing international business development opportunities is part of our broader growth strategy. To this end, we have been actively pursuing opportunities in other European jurisdictions as well as in Latin America. Our aim is to leverage our established relationships in the industry to replicate the local business models on lucrative international opportunities, while being grounded in our approach of doing business.
