Françaisedes Jeux (FDJ) saw a year-on-year increase in turnover, revenue and net profit in the first half of the financial year, largely due to growth in its lottery business, while the French operator also announced the acquisition of payments specialist L. ‘addition.
Lottery growth was evident in both the first and second quarters, with FDJ saying the positive trends seen in the first half of the first half have continued over the last three months.
The operator also said the trend was present in the wider business, with higher stakes across both online and offline channels across the group, although it noted declining sports betting revenue.
As a result, FDJ said it will continue to pursue new investment opportunities with the acquisition of L’Addition, which specializes in payment management, point-of-sale systems and management services for the cafe, hotel and restaurant sectors.
This followed the news earlier this month that it entered into exclusive negotiations with POS and payment provider Aleda with the intention of acquiring it.
“Given the deteriorating global economic environment, the group remains cautious, but based on its broad and responsible gaming model, we are confident in its outlook,” said Stephen Palace, FDJ CEO and Chairman. I have. ”
“We continue to invest in two acquisitions, Aleda and L’Addition, to support the development of activities, including payment and service activities.”
Looking at FDJ’s financial performance for the six months to 30 June, the game’s net revenue was €1.21 billion (£1.01 billion, $1.24 billion), compared to €1.08 billion in the previous year. increased by 12.1% from
Lotteries were the main contributor to this, with revenues up 17.1% year-on-year to €946 million. FDJ said this was largely due to the easing of restrictions on the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) at the time of lottery sales in the first half of last year, and those measures have now been removed.
However, despite the increase in lottery, sports betting revenue fell 4.9% to € 232 million, the FDJ says, primarily as a result of the weakness of the sports calendar. Last year, the second half of the first half included the Uefa European Championship, which increased customer spending.
In terms of spending, business-wide wagering increased 9.7% to €10bn, lottery wagering increased 16.6% to €8.02bn, while sports betting stakes fell 10.9% to €2.02bn. was. this segment.
After posting total operating expenses of 977.9 million euros, the Group’s operating profit increased by 21.4% year-on-year to 239.2 million euros, and including financial expenditure of 22.4 million euros, pre-tax profit increased by 7.5%. did. to 217.7 million euros.
FDJ paid €58.2 million in income tax in the first half and posted a net profit of €159.5 million, up 9.5% from last year. In addition, the operator noted that profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization increased by 18.0% year-on-year to He 308 million euros.
“The second quarter saw positive trends at the start of the year, especially for lotteries,” said Palace. “Our business has grown over the last six months, both POS and digital.
“The Group pursues a sustainable and profitable growth strategy for the benefit of all stakeholders.”
