Revenue of Greek gaming operator Intralot S.A. grew by as much 4.3 percent in the first three months of 2018, with sports betting fueling the company’s financial growth.
In a regulatory filing, the Athens-listed Intralot announced that consolidated revenue of €280.7 million (US$327.25 million) for the three months ending March 2018, higher than the €269 million ($313.7 million) it reported in the same period last year.
Gross gaming revenue grew by 2.5 percent to €141.5 million ($165 million), with sports betting being the largest contributor to its top line, followed by lottery games.
Intralot’s sports betting arm posted 11.9 percent growth while its lottery division contributed 29.7 percent to the company’s turnover. Meanwhile, technology contracts and VLTs accounted for 6.2 percent and 2.8 percent of the group’s turnover, while racing constituted 2.4 percent.
The company’s adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) climbed 7.5 percent to €33.1 million ($38.60 million) from €30.8 million ($35.92 million).
In a statement, Intralot CEO Antonios Kerataris attributed the Q1 results to “stronger sales and continuing growth in developed markets, reflecting increasingly successful market development efforts along with an upgrade of our offering with next-generation products and services for Lotteries digital transformation.”
Intralot’s European revenue was €164.1 million ($191.37 million), up 5.9 percent year-on-year, while revenue in the Americas slipped by 7.2 percent to €50.3 million ($58.65 million).
In terms of wagers handled, the group reported that Intralot systems raked €6.3 billion ($7.35 billion), a 2 percent year-on-year decrease.
The celebration inside Intralot was muted by the rise of its gross debt to €751.6 million ($876.52 million) from €669.5 million ($780.77 million) in Q1 2017, while its net debt rose to €528.3 million ($616.1 million) from €502.9 million ($586.48 million) in Q1 2017.
Going forward, Intralot is looking to expand its business in the U.S. following the repeal of the federal ban on sports betting.
The company noted that the decision to strike down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) of 1992 “creates tremendous business opportunities from the rise of a potential $20 billion market in annual GGR terms, on top of great prospects in new flagship projects such as the Illinois State Lottery.”
