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Codere Online has reported revenue growth across its three core markets, with the increase in income enabling the Spanish markets-focused operator to further reduce its net losses.
Group wide revenue for the first quarter of the year rose 57% to €37.6m (Q1 2022: €23.9m), whilst net gaming revenue increased 55% to €39.5m (€25.5m).
These respective growth rates cut the firm’s net loss down to €1.3m (€10.1m) and prompted it to reaffirm its outlook for the year end, having closed the quarter with a total cash position of €49m.
Aviv Sher, Codere Online CEO, said: “We are off to a very strong start in 2023, with net gaming revenue growing by 55% in the first quarter to nearly €40m.
“The significant investment that we made in the prior quarter around the World Cup allowed us to meaningfully grow our customer base versus pre-World Cup levels. These customers remained engaged throughout the first quarter, in particular in Spain and Mexico.”
A market breakdown saw revenue from Spain – where the group is listed on the Bolsa Madrid stock exchange – increase 40% to €18.4m (€13.2m), driven by an NGR uptick which mirrored these figures.
Revenue from Mexico, meanwhile, grew 77% to €15.8m (€8.9m) with NGR growth of 75% to €17.6m (€10m), whilst Colombian income stood at €2.4m, growth of 54% from €1.1m, driven by an NGR increase of 55% from €1.5m to €2.3m.
Sher observed that, in the case of Mexico, cross-selling between betting and casino products played an ‘important role’ in customer engagement, with Mexico contributing 53% of NGR.
Codere Online’s Q1 performance marks a continuing an upward trajectory for the firm from 2022, which saw the company close the final quarter of the year with revenue of €128m, an increase of 48%
Oscar Iglesias, Codere Online CFO, remarked: “We are excited to be presenting both strong top line growth in the quarter and, more importantly, a significant improvement in Adjusted EBITDA.
“This was partially driven by the lower level of marketing spend in the quarter in furtherance of our plans to deliver sustainable growth for our shareholders.
“For the full year, we continue to expect to generate between €140-150m of net gaming revenue and Adjusted EBITDA of negative €20-30m, although given our strong performance in Q1, we now expect to be at the higher end of the range and are well on track to deliver positive EBITDA and cash flow for the full year in 2024.”
Recent developments for the firm have included licence approval in Argentina’s Province of Mendoza, complementing its existing Province of Buenos Aires licence, whilst it withdrew from the tender process for the Province of Córdoba, citing a ‘lack of viable tax structure’.
Additionally, Codere Online has also made a new senior management appointment, naming Deborah Guivisdalsky as Chief Operation Officer to replace Sher after the latter assumed CEO duties.
Sher remarked: “We are thrilled to announce the promotion of Deborah to the role of COO. She has been an integral part of our team for many years and we are confident she will continue to drive our company’s success with her exceptional leadership skills and deep understanding of our business.”
Following broad growth across its three core markets and for group wide revenue, Codere has expressed faith in plans to be EBITDA and cash flow positive for the full year in 2024.
