Italian operator Sisal has reported revenue of €459.8m (£388.7m/$518.9m) for the nine months to September 30.
This was up by 23.2% compared to the same period in 2020, which was affected greatly by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
Sisal’s online division emerged as a major contributor, with revenue rising by 90.9% year-on-year to €185.6m. Online betting made up €93.8m of the total, up 110.8%, while online casino revenue rose 90.9% to €77.0m.
Online lotteries and bingo accumulated €8.8m of the revenue, up 29.5%. Meanwhile, online skill games totalled at €5.8m, which was a rise of 11.3%.
For retail, however, revenue fell 25.3% year-on-year to €196.8m. Retail lottery made up €94.8m of this, a rise of 26.5%, while amusement with prizes (AWP) games contributed €42.5m and video lottery terminal (VLT) €30.6m, decreases of 40.8% and 32.7% respectively. Retail betting came to €28.8m, a drop of 59.5%, after all of Sisal’s in-person gaming offerings were affected by Covid-19 lockdowns.
International revenue, from lottery supply deals in other markets, totalled €77.3m, up 514.7%. The majority of this (€72.0m) came from Turkey, where Sisal operates the Milli Piyango national lottery. Morocco, where it is partnered with Loterie Maroc, contributed €4.9m, up 94.7%, while Spanish revenue fell 26.9% to €333,000.
This expansion did see operating costs increase, however. Service costs were the largest single outgoing at €200.0m, 17.2% more than in the first nine months of 2020. Amortisation, depreciation and impairment charges added up to €100.3m, a rise of 9.3%.
Personnel costs made up €64.7m and other operating expenses generated €2.9m, increases of 10.7% and 29.8% respectively.
The remaining expenses were made up of expenses made by purchasing raw materials and consumables at €11.5m, which was up 43.3% year-on-year, and impairment of financial assets at €2.9m, a decrease of 62.3%.
This left an operating profit of €50.2m, up 286.2%.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), for the year to date came to €103.1m, up by €111.2m year-on-year. Income taxes and losses on financial items came to €67.7m and €8.4m respectively.
Financial assets impairment profits came to €2.9m, a decrease of 62.3% year-on-year.
Sisal also recored gains of €15.9m from non-cash items, reorganisation costs and start-up development costs. The overall net profit totalled at €103.7m, by €111.2m year-on-year.
“Results for the third quarter of 2021 were very positive, sharply increasing compared to 2020, which had been marked by compelling challenges, but also by even greater opportunities for the whole sector,” said Francesco Durante, CEO of Sisal.
“Today’s results confirm the soundness of our choices and let us look at the market with confidence and the awareness of the excellent progress we have made on the three sustainability pillars and on digitalisation and internationalisation — the core principles of our growth strategy.”
Last month Sisal filed for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on Italy’s stock exchange, Borsa Italiana’s Mercato Telematico Azionario (MTA).
