Intralot SPA has achieved its corporate objective of reducing its gross debt below €500m, despite witnessing a slowdown in its B2C performance.
Publishing its full-year 2023 accounts, the Athens-listed gambling and lottery technology group reported revenues of €364m, a 7.3% decline from FY2022 results of €398m.
The decline in headline revenues is attributed to the discontinuation of its Malta Lottery contract, which expired in July. The contract operated by Intralot’s B2C Licensed Operations unit is reported to have had a €43m negative impact on revenue results.
On a year-on-year basis, Intralot’s Licensed Operations for B2C registered a 70% decline in revenues to €24.5m (FY2022: €83m). The B2C unit was further hindered by Intralot recording a €7m negative impact in Argentina related to continued currency fluctuations.
B2C declines were offset by the firm’s B2B technology contracts reporting FY2023 sales of €339m, up 10% on FY2022 comparatives of €309m. B2B growth was attributed to improved performance of its Turkish Bilyoner account and Croatian lottery contract with Hrvatska Lutrija.
Despite B2C challenges, Intralot maintained EBITDA growth of €129.5m, up 5% on FY2022 results of €123m.
Year trading saw operational costs rise by 14% to €114m. Yet, not all spending trends were unfavorable; the company did record reductions in certain expense categories.
Specifically, depreciation and amortization expenses decreased by 3.1% to €67m while interest and associated charges also fell by 2.9% to €35.7m. The company’s earnings before taxes climbed to €33.6 million, reflecting a 12.8% uplift from the prior year.
Of significance to Intralot’s financial health, the firm noted its strengthened balance sheet, having reduced its gross debt by €147m to €445m. As of 31 December, Intralot’s net debt stands at €333m.
Chairman & CEO Sokratis P. Kokkalis noted, “2023 was a year of steady growth in operating profitability with strong cash flow and achievement of strategic goals of margin expansion, deleveraging, and debt reduction. Important milestones were the successful share capital increase and the completion of the plan for the full refinancing of our debt, placing the company on solid ground to pursue significant business opportunities globally, leveraging its modern and competitive technology.”