Zeal confirms board changes with Steiner exiting as supervisory chairman
Steiner has been a member of the Zeal supervisory board since June 2013. He became chair in 2017 and has held the role ever since, with the exception of 2019 when he led the Lotto24 supervisory board.
However, Steiner has informed Zeal he will step down at the end of the 2025 annual general meeting. This will conclude his 12-year association with the operator’s supervisory board.
Zeal will soon commence a search to identify and appoint a replacement.
Zeal mourns passing of board member
In related news, Zeal has announced the sudden and unexpected passing of Frank Strauß, a member of its supervisory board. Aged 54, Strauß had served on the board for four years.
Prior to his time with Zeal, Strauß worked at Deutsche Bank AG for almost 30 years, most recently as a member of the management board, responsible for its global business with private and corporate clients.
Steiner paid tribute to the late Strauß, saying Zeal is “deeply saddened” by his passing.
“With his decades of management experience and his high level of commitment, he was a highly valued colleague, not only on the supervisory board,” Steiner said. “Our thoughts are with his wife, his children and his family.”
Zeal CEO Helmut Becker added: “Frank Strauß has made a significant contribution to Zeal’s success over the past four years. His advice, his ideas and his commitment will be missed by us, but also by me personally.
“We are very grateful for his work and pay tribute to him. Our deepest condolences go to his family.”
Zeal will now take steps to fill the position left vacant by the sudden passing of Strauß.
Revenue up 35.2% at Zeal in Q1
The news comes in the wake of Zeal publishing its Q1 results earlier in May. These showed a 35.2% increase in revenue to €36.1m (£30.7m/$39.3m).
This was driven by a 28.5% rise in lottery revenue to €32.0m. Zeal also noted the impact of its new online games business in Germany, with revenue totalling €2.2m. The segment only launched in June of last year, so there were no comparable year-on-year figures.
In terms of other activity outside Germany, revenue from these operations increased 9.0% to €1.4m. This was primarily generated from the ONCE business in Spain.
Costs were higher overall for Zeal, but revenue growth meant net profit hit €21.1m, some 382.8% ahead of 2023. In addition, EBITDA edged up year-on-year to €9.4m.