SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Grupo CIRSA has lauded its 2022 financial recovery as all core business units “return and outperform pre-COVID 2019 trading”.
Full-year 2022 results saw the Blackstone-owned Spanish gambling group declare an operating profit of €552m, up 66% on the corresponding FY2021 result of €331m.
Headline growth was attributed to CIRSA units achieving a combined peak operating income of €1.74bn, ahead by 48% on FY2021 comparatives of €1.17bn as “results evolved very favourably quarter after quarter, both in revenue growth and in operating profit”.
A strong end-of-year close was cited by CIRSA’s Spanish sportsbook Sportium and machine games distributor Unidesa, as venue properties saw customer activity return to pre-pandemic levels.
Fourth quarter operating income stood at €496m (+31%), helping the group achieve a Q4 profit of €154m (+27%).
2022 highlights saw CIRSA expand its casino footprint in Morocco, in which it won rights to open a new casino in Tangier.
Meanwhile, in Europe, CIRSA entered Italy’s online gambling marketplace having finalised its acquisition of licensed operator E-Play24.
The Spanish heritage gambling group is currently advancing its global profile across “nine countries, operating 146 casinos, more than 81,000 recreational machines, 78 bingo halls, 241 lounges, nearly 3,000 sports betting points”.
CIRSA President Joaquim Agut commented: “In a complex economic environment, derived from the impact of the Covid restrictions in revenues and generalized cost increases, the achievement of these results has been possible thanks to the effort of the entire organization in implementing the business plans and the expected efficiency and productivity.
“Without the commitment of the entire organization in achieving both our financial and sustainability objectives, it would not have been possible to return to the path of historical quarterly growth, and thus exceed the results achieved in 2019, just before the pandemic”
