OPAP registers strong third quarter

The Greek giant OPAP has revealed that net profit in the third quarter rose to €48.8 million, a 24.5% year-on-year increase.

Greece.- A positive contribution of Stoiximan Group results has helped Greek gambling company OPAP report good results in the third quarter of the year. In the three-month period, OPAP posted net profits of €48.8 million, representing a 24.5% increase from the €39.2 million in 2018.

Gaming gross revenue (GGR) in the third quarter increased by 6.7% year-on-year based on €393.6 million as a result of strong lotteries’ performance, increased contribution of VLTs and scratch & lottery recovery.

For the first nine months of the year, net profits totalled €140.6 million, up by 33.6% from the €105.2 million in the same period last year. GGR in the nine-month period tose 6% to €1.17 billion.

OPAP Managing Director Damian Koop commented: “Our financial results for the third quarter further highlight the growth that the OPAP team has achieved, thanks to the investments made and the hard work of recent years. As revenue and profitability grow well compared to 2018, I believe that OPAP continues to benefit from its ongoing transformation. In the third quarter, similar trends were observed to those of the first half of 2019, with strong results in lotteries, dynamic performance in slot machines (VLTs) and continuous improvement in sports betting performance.

“With regard to customer relationships, our active online customer base continues to grow on a monthly basis, VLTs and new Tora services. We are now just a few weeks before 2020, the year of the 2020 Vision, as it was originally presented. Until then, we will focus on achieving our goals for the rest of 2019. In this context, we are optimistic that we will successfully achieve our goals for the whole year.”

OPAP looking at possible new debt issue

The biggest operator from Greece said that it is considering issuing new debt. Chief Financial Officer Pavel Mucha said: “Yes, we are looking at various options how to structure the total debt of the company. The markets are very good at the moment, both the local Greek market and the rates are really positively moving, as well as the whole European market.”