Lottery retailer Jumbo Interactive has forecast a 27.1% year-on-year increase in revenue for its 2022 financial year, as well as a 13.7% jump in underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).
Total revenue for six months through to 30 June 2022 is forecast to reach AUS$103.8m (£59.0/€69.6m/US$69.8m), up from $81.7m in underlying revenue for the 2021 financial year.
Jumbo said it was helped by an improved jackpot cycle, with the jackpot environment in its native Australia having experienced 43 Powerball/OzLotto jackpots in 2022, compared to 38 in the previous year, while the average jackpot value was also 28% higher.
The retailer also noted that during the second half of the year, it benefitted from a $120m Powerball jackpot in February 2022, which was the first time the jackpot had exceeded $100m since September 2019.
This, however, was followed by significantly lower jackpot activity in March and April 2022, with peak monthly jackpots of $20m, before increasing to $80m and $60m in May and June respectively.
Other stand-out figures from the preliminary results announcement included an expected 35.5% year-on-year increase in total transaction value (TTV), comprising the gross amount received from the sale of goods and services rendered, to $660.1m.
Underlying operating costs are forecast to rise by 34.8% to $35.6m, but underlying EBITDA is still expected to increase by 13.7% to $54.0m and underlying net profit after tax by 15.8% to $31.6m.
“We are very pleased with the strong growth that we have achieved in FY22 off the back of an improved jackpot cycle,” Jumbo chief executive and founder Mike Veverka said. “FY22 has been a pivotal year for Jumbo as we build the foundations to successfully execute on our global growth strategy.
“Lottery retailing is exceptionally well positioned to benefit from the ongoing shift to digital and the new OzLotto game launched in May 2022, while the integration of Stride and StarVale will help us build scale in our Managed Services and SaaS segments globally.”
Jumbo plans to publish its FY22 results in full on 26 August.
Looking ahead to FY23, Jumbo said its performance will likely be impacted by a number of factors, including the cost of goods sold in its lottery retail business due to the increase in The Lottery Corporation service fee to 3.5% of the subscription price of tickets purchased, up from 2.5% in FY22. Marketing costs are also expected to be in the range of 1.5% to 2.0% of lottery retailing TTV.
In terms of group performance, excluding the impact of the Stride acquisition, which was completed in June, and the pending StarVale purchase that was recently pushed back to next year, underlying operating cost growth excluding lottery retailing marketing costs is expected to moderate with Jumbo targeting an increase of 20% to 22%.
Underlying EBITDA margin is also anticipated to be within a range of 48%-50%, with Jumbo saying jackpots remain a significant driver of lottery retail ticket sales and revenue, and in any given year, there is uncertainty as to the exact number and aggregate value of large jackpots.
