Greek gambling monopoly OPAP has cited new national tax laws and an ongoing recession in the country as the reasons behind a further drop in profit in the third quarter of 2013.
OPAP, which was recently sold to Czech-Greek fund Emma Delta, posted third-quarter net profit of €44.4 million ($59.9 million), a 61% year-on-year fall, despite being higher than analysts’ average forecast of €37.2 million.
The company said that a new 30% tax Greece had placed on gross gaming revenue had led to a major impact on results this year.
However, OPAP was able to record a rise in sales for the first time this year, with revenue increasing year-on-year by 0.7% to €897.6 million in the third quarter.
“The Q3 revenues stabilisation indicates a promising restart for the company that comes along with the recent undertaking of our duties,” OPAP’s chief executive, Kamil Ziegler, said.
Meanwhile, Ziegler also said that OPAP is to delay the launch of video lottery terminals until the third quarter of 2014.
According to the Reuters news agency, OPAP had initially planned to roll out the terminals during the second quarter of 2014, but the original plan has been scuppered after repeated delays in the negotiations that led to the takeover by Emma Delta.
“Obviously any previously created roll-out timeframes are outdated and they should be amended,” Ziegler said.
“We are now targeting roll-out of the first machines in the third quarter of next year, while also assessing all the business parameters in order to be able to benefit from what we consider as the most significant opportunity in this market.”
source : www.igamingbusiness.com
