SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Strong growth from Betclic enabled its parent company Banijay Group to record a 10% rise in revenue in Q1 to €1bn and issue a raised EBITDA growth guidance from high single digits to low teens for 2024.
CEO Francois Riahi said this was due mainly to the strong outlook for OSB and iCasino, where revenues were up 31% to €321m during the quarter, as the group prepares for Euro 2024, the Copa America and the Paris Olympics In the coming months.
Riahi added that even though the Olympics will “not be on the same scale as the Euros from a betting perspective”, the fact that they are in Betclic’s home market will help.
At group level, adjusted EBITDA increased 11.2% to €164m and margins rose 30bps to 16.4% on the back of a strong launch in the Ivory Coast and the country winning this year’s African Cup of Nations, added Riahi, as OSB revenues were up 26% while online casino, poker and horse racing betting increased 53% and revenues from regulated markets had risen to 99% from 92% in the past two years.
The company’s renaming to Banijay Group from FL Entertainment means the TV production and live experience units are now called Banijay Entertainment and Banijay Live, while Betclic and Bet-at-home will operate under the Banijay Gaming banner.
Banijay Gaming however will not have the same access to the same finance facilities as the TV production and live units and Riahi said the group had no plans to do so in the near term. At period end the group had €434m in cash reserves and its leverage ratio was 3.1x.
