Intralot, a Greek gaming and lottery company will take advantage of the improved financial performance to accelerate its online expansion and US growth.
Intralot’s improved financial standing will allow it to achieve its long-term goal of increasing its digital presence in North America.
The CEO of Intralot, Sokratis Kokokalis, said: “Intralot’s significant improved financial results reflect the benefits of the extensive business and the capital structure restructuring efforts in 2021 and in 2022, along with the healthy cash flow and profit margins which create stability, and give us the runway for our plans to be deployed on opportunities in particular in the US, the UK and the rest the world.”
Intralot offers sports betting online in Washington DC. It also provides the technology used by the DC Lottery for its Gambet game. Gambet, however, has struggled to make money, and is far behind the market leader Caesars.
The gross gaming revenues for the company increased 5.0% in the nine months ending September to EUR256.6m ($267.5m/£220.2m).
Intralot’s improved financial performance is partly due to a business restructuring and capital reorganization process which has been in place for the past years.
The business’s earnings before tax, interest, depreciation, or amortization (EBITDA) improved by 6.6% in the last period to EUR88m.
The Q3 earnings report of Intralot highlighted the “accumulation” of efforts made by the company’s management to reduce costs, particularly at its headquarters, in recent years.
Intralot, however, saw its total revenue – including earnings and the stakes placed on B2C activities – fall 0.3% to EUR301.7m.
Intralot shocks: Positive and Negative Shocks
The company also benefited from the fall in exchange rates, especially as the US dollar and Australian dollar strengthened against the Euro.
A reduction in US revenue and expiration of the Maltese license were also negative factors for the business.
Debt burden
A decline in revenues in 2020-21 was caused by a drop in sales of lottery tickets due to Covid lockdowns and contract negotiations in key. Intralot took on substantial debt to make sure it could meet its obligations. In Q3, Intralot’s total debt increased from EUR509,6m to EUR509.6m.
Intralot generated strong cashflow in the third quarter and the restructuring has helped reduce the debt load of the company. Since the bulk of debts are denominated by euros, the currency fluctuation has had a negative impact on business debt, despite the fact that the forces were positive for the company’s revenue.
