OPAP claims growth despite ‘unprecedented’ conditions in Q3

Gross gaming revenue for the third quarter amounted to €300.9 million ($319.1 million), a decrease of 12.9% from the €345.6 million posted in the same period last year.

Wagers in the quarter decreased by 15.7% to €900.8 million, although payout dropped slightly from 67.7% last year to 66.6%.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 7.6% year-on-year to €87.1 million, while net profit also dropped by 8.5% to €49.1 million. Earnings per share in the quarter came in at €0.1540, down 8.4% from the same period last year.

Despite having recorded losses in the third quarter, OPAP revealed that its year-to-date results represent widespread growth across all metrics.

Gross gaming revenue in the nine months through to the end of September came in at €998 million, up 3.8% on the amount posted at the same point last year, while wagers were up 2.7% to €3.1 billion.

Payout remained relatively level at 67.4%, with EBITDA jumping 14.4% year-on-year to €273.5 million and net profit also increased 33.7% to €159.1 million. Earnings per share in the year-to-date increased 33.7% to €0.4987.

Kamil Ziegler, chairman and chief executive of OPAP, said: “Q3 2015 was marked by unprecedented conditions in a tough domestic macro-economic environment.”