Danske Spil profit up 11.1% in Q1

The sale of its stake in fantasy sports platform Swush boosted profits while lottery made up for weaker gaming hall revenue.

Denmark.- Danske Spil has reported a 11.1 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit for the quarter ending March 31. Revenue was up 2.2 per cent year-on-year at DKK1.24bn (€166.2m).

The lottery business Danske Lotteri Spil contributed the largest share of revenue at DKK711m, up 4.9 per cent year-on-year. Boosted by high jackpots in Eurojackpot and additional draws, that helped offset a decrease in digital and gaming hall operations.

Revenue from Danske Licens Spil, including sports betting and online casino, was down by 1 per cent at DKK393. The operator reported a rise in casino players but a fall in sports betting. It said competition, weak margins and a decline in retail sales since the introduction of mandatory player ID in 2021 had impacted performance. 

Revenue from the gaming hall and land-based slots business Elite Gaming was down 1.3 per cent at DKK75m, while Danske Klasselotteri, which was merged with Danske Spil in April 2022, generated DKK64m, level with last year.

Revenue from the fantasy sports platform Swush was down 50 per cent year-on-year, but group sold its 60 per cent stake in the platform to the newspaper Ekstra Bladet early in the quarter. The sale contributed an additional DKK27m in income. Together with the rise in revenue, this led to an 11.1 per cent rise in net profit to DKK510.

For the full year, Danske Spil forecasts revenue between DKK5bn and DKK5.2bn and profit after tax of between DKK1.8bn and DKK1.9bn.

For 2023, Danske Spil reported full-year revenue of DKK5.04bn (€676.1m), a rise of 1.2 per cent from DKK4.98bn in 2022. The Danske Lotteri Spil lottery division generated a record DKK2.87bn, a rise of 2.5 per cent.