Online inspires Lottomatica Q3 surge following IPO
Italy’s biggest gambling group generated gross gambling revenue of €2.8bn ($3.0bn/£2.4bn) in the first nine months of the year. The period from June to 30 September came just weeks after Lottomatica debuted on the Milan Euronext in May following its €2.26bn IPO.
The group’s continued strong performance meant its guidance for fiscal year 2023, which was raised in Q2, has been confirmed. Lottomatica expects revenue of between €1.63bn to 1.69bn and adjusted EBITDA of €570m to €590m.
GGR at Lottomatica was up by 7% compared to the same nine-month period in 2022 pro forma, taking into account the addition of Betflag in late 2022. GGR was up 10% on a reported basis, minus Betflag’s estimated contribution.
Its total online market share was up by 3.8pp compared to 2022, standing now at 21.2%. Igaming market share was up 4.5pp to 21.7% with isports up 3.1pp to 20.4%. Its online brands include Lottomatica, Better, Goldbet as well as Betflag, which it acquired for €310m last year.
Lottomatica online outperforms other segments
Total bets worth €21.7bn were up 19% pro forma compared to last year, and up 34% on a reported basis. The Online segment continued to outperform with bets up 37% compared to the same period pro forma of 2022.
Revenue for the nine months, minus payouts, was at €1.9bn, which was up 12% pro forma. Within that Online was up 30% to €374.0m. Online saw a strong double-digit performance in the third quarter, driven by the market share growth across all product segments and brands. Excluding the impact of unfavourable payouts, revenues in Q3 were up 40% compared to Q3 2022 pro forma.
Sports franchise also saw double-digit growth of 10% to €277.4m. Gaming franchise was up by 3% to €543.5m, although Q3 revenues decreased by 3% compared to Q3 2022. This was explained by the period last year benefiting from the removal of Covid-related restrictions.
Higher takings outweigh increased costs
Adjusted EBITDA at Lottomatica reached €426.4m, which was up 15% and 25% by pro forma and reported respectively. Adjusted EBITDA margin reached 35.7% on revenues, compared to 34.8% in the same period pro forma of 2022 driven by the higher contribution of the online business.
Items such as cost of sales and personnel and finance expenses all grew during the period. However, double-digit revenue growth meant profit before tax was up 15% to €129.0m.
Guglielmo Angelozzi, chief executive officer at Lottomatica, said: “In this third quarter we have consolidated our leadership position and our online business has continued to grow market share across all product segments and brands.
“We are on track to achieving our guidance for fiscal year 2023 and to continue to execute our strategy of organic and M&A growth.”