Operator News
Spain – Cirsa achieves operating profit growth of over six per cent for quarter
By Phil - 3 December 2018
Cirsa Gaming Corporation recorded an operating profit of €95m in the third quarter of the year, from July to September, 6.7 per cent more than in the same quarter of 2017.
In a statement, the company said that it had posted operating income of €367.3m, 5.3 per cent more than in the same period in 2017.
The group stated that the casino division continued “with significant revenue growth in all its markets,” and highlighted the “notable increase” in Mexico, among other developments.
The company highlighted its slot machine and bingo segments in Spain. In slots, key to its positive results has been adapting to new regulations in Andalusia and the arrival of the slot model Perla del Caribe and the most recent On the Rocks, which had recorded good sales in the hotel sector.
In the bingo division, the company highlighted the remodelling and enlargement of its bingo halls in Andalusia and the incorporation of a new room in Salou (Tarragona), in early August.
Its sports betting division Sportium also closed the quarter with significant improvements, thanks to the final stretch of the World Cup, pre-season football and the start of the Spanish football League. Expansion plans in new communities, such as Andalusia, “is continuing at a good pace” the company said and the brand has been consolidated in regions where it was already present.
Meanwhile the company also highlighted developments in Latin America where it has remodelled several casinos in Colombia and Panama and it has expanded its slot parlours in Colombia and Peru. The company also said that the results in Mexico were good due to improvements in the Winland casino located in Monterrey.
Meanwhile in Italy, the company maintained its leadership position when it came to revenue generated from both AWP machines and in the VLT sector, despite the fact that Cirsa has had to reduce its fleet by more than 1,800 (a reduction of 20 per cent), because of changes to Italy’s gaming laws. The overall income level globally has been maintained and the average collection per machine has increased.
In September, Cirsa reported an operating profit of €90m for the second quarter of the year, 3.8 per cent more than in the same period last year. As reported by the company on 27 September, operating income stood at €358.9m 3.2 per cent higher than the previous year. These results, Cirsa pointed out, had occurred despite the “unfavourable impact” on their accounts of €2.9m, as a result of the devaluation against the euro of all Latin American currencies, such as that of Mexico.
However, the results of the second quarter did not include operations in Argentina because this country was left out of the Grupo Cirsa’s purchase perimeter by the North American investment fund Blackstone. The company’s operations in Argentina now operate as a separate entity under Cirsa founder Manuel Lao Hernandez. In the press release Cirsa highlighted the addition of the Windland Casino in Guadalajara (Mexico) and five new slot parlours in different cities in Spain, as well as the remodelling of its main casinos in Colombia and Panama, as well as in Valencia, Marbella and Las Palmas in Gran Canaria.
Cirsa Gaming Corporation has 146 casinos, more than 42,000 gaming machines, 71 bingo halls, 188 gaming rooms, 3,000 sports betting sites and more than 2,500 video lottery terminals in Spain, Italy and Latin America.
