Greek gaming operator and supplier Intralot SA saw its revenue drop by as much as 3.6 percent in the first quarter of 2016, partly due to the company’s performance in the Australasia market.
On Wednesday, the company reported that consolidated revenue for the first three months ending March reached €335.2 million compared to €347.7 million in the same period last year.
Intralot attributed the decrease in revenue to lower sales in Azerbaijan, where “the local currency suffered a severe devaluation last February and December.” The company also experienced softer sales in South America, particularly in Jamaica, Argentina and Brazil. The revenue drop, however, was partially offset by increased sales in Peru, Bulgaria in East Europe, North America, Africa and West Europe.
Intralot didn’t include its Italian operations in the calculations since it is still waiting for its merger with Gamenet, in which Intralot will receive a 20 percent share in the combined entity—to be completed. Including revenue from Italy, the group said its overall turnover would have amounted to €499.5 million, which remains flat compared to the €499.4 million reported in the same period in 2015.
Lottery games contributed nearly half of the total revenues for the first quarter of 2016. Proceeds from “numerical games offering” made up for 46.9 percent of the overall revenue figure, followed by sports betting at 38.4 percent. Technology contracts contributed 9.4 percent to Intralot’s figure, while revenue from video lottery terminals and other gaming machines accounted for 3 percent, and proceeds from racing products accounted for 2.3 percent.
Intralot handled a total of €6.9 billion in wagers in the first three months of the year, an increase of 2.7 percent compared to the same period in 2015.
EBITDA also increased by 5.6 percent to reach €47.3 million in the first quarter. The company’s operating cash flow also grew by 56.6 percent to reach €41.2 million, but the gross profit margin remained stable at 19.4 percent.
Intralot Group CEO Antonios Kerastaris chalked up the first quarter performance to the company’s “operational model evolution,” coupled with their “unique understanding of traditional industry verticals such as lottery and betting retail.”
