Lottery growth continues in Danske Spil H1
Danske Spil said the lottery growth was driven by improved financial results and the integration of the class lottery into the business since April 2022.
The operator reported DKK2.47bn (£280m/$360m/€330m) in revenue for H1 2023, up 5.2% from the DKK2.25bn the company received in the same period of the previous year.
As mentioned, lottery growth drove the increase. The company’s lottery division saw DKK1,368bn in revenue, up DKK59m from the previous year. The class lottery saw 75.4% growth to DKK121m.
Meanwhile, the business’ betting gaming revenue rose slightly from DKK822m to DKK830m. The company’s slot machine subsidiary Elite Gaming saw revenue increase from DKK146m to DKK147m.
The business said the increase resulted from growth in its sports betting online offerings. However, it highlighted the casino segment remained stagnant. Danske Spil put this down to new responsible gaming initiatives it put in place, including lower deposit limits.
Meanwhile the business’ fantasy sports business Swush doubled its revenue during the reporting period to DKK6. However, due to its small size it made a negligible impact on the company’s financial results.
Danske Spil sees increased external and personnel costs
In addition to the increased revenue, Danske Spil saw a rise in costs during the reporting period. The company reported its total costs rose to DKK649m, up DKK33m from 2022.
The company said this resulted from the impacts of inflation and the merger with the class lottery. It also said 23 additional employees joined the business because of the merger. These new staff hires meant employee costs rose 11.4% to DKK196m.
Danske Spil said its external costs rose to DKK351m, compared to the DKK322m the business spent in the six-month period the previous year. However, the operator’s depreciation costs fell slightly from the year before, to DKK102m.
Increased revenue translates into higher profit
After taking account of costs the business reported a pre-tax profit of DKK1.17bn. This is compared to last year’s DKK1.09bn achieved in the same period of 2022.
Danske Spil saw DKK7m added to this total as a result of the business’ financial activities, as opposed to the DKK67m lost the previous year.
The company put this increase down to better interest income on its cash and a price drop in its securities portfolio in 2022.
After DKK259m in taxes were taken, the company reported a total income for the period of DKK915m. This is a 14.9% increase from the DKK796 the business announced in the same period the previous year.