SBC News Lottomatica lauds Online growth as EBITDA target is upgraded to + €700m

Lottomatica lauds Online growth as EBITDA target is upgraded to + €700m

Lottomatica SPA has elevated its full-year 2024 corporate guidance to an EBITDA range of €700m to €730m following ‘all-time-high’ results achieved during H1 trading.

The Borsa Milan gambling group backs its growth momentum, which will be accelerated by the integration of SKS365 betting assets, to become Italy’s outright market leader in gambling.

H1 accounts saw Lottomatica generate group wagers of €18bn, up 23% on 2023 comparatives of €14.5bn, with results reflecting a 41% increase in online bets to €10.7bn.

Wagering growth saw group net revenues amount to €931m, up 14% on 2023 results of €830m.

Expanding its Italian online gambling market share, Lottomatica’s online unit achieved an NGR of €338m, up 37% on 2023 results of €246m.

Corporate growth was further supported by Lottomatica Sports Franchises, increasing its H1 income to €213m (H12023: €204m). Group accounts detailed that Sports Franchises indexed a “19% growth at a normalised payout.”

Headline results were concluded by Gaming Franchises maintaining revenue growth of €380m (+3%), a positive result despite the unit witnessing no increase in H1 wagers.

Period trading saw Lottomatica declare an adjusted EBITDA of €317m, up 6% on 2023 results of €299m, primarily attributed to an all-time high online EBITDA contribution of €177m (+19%).

However, Group EBITDA was dragged down by unfavourable Sports Franchise payouts registered in the first quarter of 2024, as well as the consolidation costs of SKS365, which lowered period margins.

Closing H1 accounts, Lottomatica declared an operating profit of €105m as group cash flow was maintained at €228m, with corporate debt at €1.9bn, indexing a x2.7 LTM ratio.

As noted, Lottomatica increased its Italian online market share to 29% (+2%), reflecting its leading online sports betting of 29.7% (+1.5%) and in the iGaming segment of 29.5% (+2.4%).

Group CEO Guglielmo Angelozzi commented: “In the second quarter of 2024, we have continued our path of organic growth, supported by solid market share gains in Online, leading to sustained double-digit growth in Revenues and EBITDA.

We have successfully completed the acquisition of SKS and are progressing with the integration at a fast pace, having secured to date c. 40% of the synergies announced. Also, we have opportunistically refinanced notes worth €900 million in May, resulting in material interest savings. In light of the strong performance, the delivery in cost synergy realisation, and expected bolt-on acquisitions, we upgrade our Guidance for FY 2024.”

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