Intralot SA has published its financial results for the first quarter of 2021, prepared in accordance with IFRS, with Chairman and CEO Sokratis P Kokkalis stating a ‘strong revenue and EBITDA growth’ thanks to the ‘successful implementation of cost containment measures’.
For Q1, the period ending March 31, 2021, Intralot has declared a group revenue of €102m, a 9.3% increase year-over-year when compared to the same period last year (Q1 2020: €93.3m).
Lottery Games was the largest revenue contributor, comprising 63%, followed by Sports Betting at 19.1%. VLTs represented 8.7%, technology contracts accounted for 8.7%, while Racing constituted 0.5% of total revenue.
The group reported gross gaming revenue (GGR) of €80.5m for the quarter, an 8.3% improvement on the previous year (Q1 2020: €74.3m).
Intralot also noted it recorded an EBITDA of €24.4m in Q1 2021, a 55.4% rise y-o-y (Q1 2020: €15.7m), while Adjusted EBITDA came in at €20.8m, a 56.4% gain y-o-y (Q1 2020: €13.3m).
Chairman and CEO Sokratis P Kokkalis commented: “First quarter results show strong Revenue and EBITDA growth, driven by robust operational performance and successful implementation of cost containment measures while maintaining a strong cash position.
“At the same time, we continue to sharpen our focus on strategic markets with higher margins, launch new operations, such as Croatia, and roll out our new product portfolio, overall pointing to a very healthy operational performance for 2021.”
Intralot declared a net income after tax and minority interest (NIATMI) from continuing operations at €-7.3m for Q1 2021, a 57.8% improvement compared to the same period last year (Q1 2020: €-17.3m).
The group’s North America operations, under Intralot Inc, achieved significant y-o-y growth, with revenue up 21.8%, and EBITDA also increased by 81.8%.
Intralot’s group OPEX in Q1 2021 was better by 8.3% y-o-y, with Greek entities OPEX lower by 25.7% y-o-y, without taking into consideration the capital structure optimization expenses. Operating cash flow came in at €21.6m (up 127.4% y-o-y). Group net CAPEX was €2.9m, lower by 48.2% compared to a year ago.
Group cash at the end of the first quarter came in at €90.6m and net debt at €643.7m. The COVID-19 pandemic impact for Q1 has been restrained in the vicinity of €1.5m at the group’s EBITDA level.
In May 2021, Intralot announced the sale of its 80% stake in Intralot do Brasil to SAGA, the only other shareholder of the company holding 20%, for a total cash consideration of €0.7m. It will continue to provide its gaming technology to Intralot do Brasil following the closing of the transaction.
The group also announced that its subsidiary in The Netherlands, Intralot Benelux BV, in co-operation with the Nederlandse Loterij, completed the transition of the operator’s full gaming portfolio enabled by the LotosX platform, rolling out 4,300 Photon terminals along with its signage solution empowering further the retail channel of the lottery’s games and sports betting offering.
Last month, Intralot published its financial results for the 2020 fiscal year, with Kokkalis noting that the group’s lottery and sports betting industries were significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.