Lottomatica sees core profit losses in H1, softened by online revenue growth of 202%

Lottomatica shared its first-half report on Thursday, August 5, revealing lower first-half core profit: a net loss of €64.2 million; and total EBITDA at €51.2 million, 22.4% down versus previous year due to longer extension of lockdown. These results were partially compensated by sustained growth of online segment at €83.2M, an increase of 153% versus same period in 2020.

Online was the primary source of income for Lottomatica, with revenue up 202.6% year-on-year to €128.5 million. 

Total revenue for the six months to 30 June amounted to €181.0 million, 0.7% up from €179.8 million in the corresponding period last year.

This online arm benefitted from the acquisition of Lottomatica Scommesse from IGT in May, causing the total amount of unique active users in the first half of the year to improve. This sale was done for a cash purchase price of €950 million, which IGT planned to use to pay transaction expenses and reduce debt.

This year-on-year improvement responded partly to the first half of 2020 suffering the biggest impact from the coronavirus pandemic, which limited certain betting options for players: restrictions on land-based gambling in Italy caused retail revenue to decline 83.6%.

The company remarks the importance of a new integrating plan now completed and a new market operating model being implemented, which involves rebranding Lottomatica to mantain its status as the "most iconic brand in the market."

Moreover, Lottomatica's network is now "fully up and running" after end of second lockdown, which has so far meant a stronger restart than after first lockdown.

However, the consequences of coronavirus restrictions can also be seen in certain revenues: retail and street operations revenue was down 77.5%; amusement-with-prize machine revenue declined 58.5%; video lottery terminal revenue fell 26.3%.