Intralot’s Q3 2021 Report Showed Signs of Business Rebound

International gaming solutions and technology provider Intralot SA released its third quarter and nine-month period ended September 30, 2021 report posting significant growth in revenue and EBITDA.

Double-Digit Growth

Intralot posted group revenue of €100.2 million ($113.2 million) and €302.8 million ($342.2 million) for the three-month and nine-month periods, up 8.2% and 24.4% on the respective readings in 2020, mainly driven by Lottery Games, which contributed to 60.7% of the total.

Sports Betting chipped in with another 17.5%, followed by Technology with 12.2%, and the VLTs business which accounted for 9.1% of the group total. Revenue from Racing comprised just 0.5% of Intralot’s revenue in the nine months in 2021.

Intralot said its US entity achieved very strong growth year-over-year, with revenue and EBITDA up 26.3% and 63.5%, respectively. The company’s Greek business posted similar growth by 20.4% excluding expenses for capital structure optimization.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) was €28.3 million ($32 million) in Q3 2021, up 49.5% year-over-year, while for the nine-month period EBITDA came at €82.6 million ($93.3 million), an increase of 82.5% on the respective period in 2020. The third-quarter EBITDA margin was up 7.8 points to 28.2%, while the cumulative reading for the nine months compared to the same period in the prior year was up 8.7 points to 27.3%.

“The nine-month results reflect the continuing strong operational performance combined with the positive impact of the capital structure optimization agreement achieved in the beginning of August.”

Sokratis Kokkalis, Chairman & CEO, Intralot SA

Net income after tax and minority interest (NIATMI) from continuous operations came at €62.1 million ($70.2 million) in Q3 2021 and €44.5 million ($50.3 million) for the first nine months of the year, reversing from a negative €18.7 million ($21.1 million) and €60.4 million ($68.3 million) for the respective three and nine-month periods in 2020 mainly due to a one-off gain of €88.5 million ($100 million) from the balance sheet optimization transaction with noteholders.

“The robust improvement in the cash flow generation and high EBITDA margins enhanced by reduced future debt servicing costs, highlight Intralot’s strengthened overall financial profile and prospects to pursue new opportunities for growth through strategic partnerships.”

Sokratis Kokkalis, Chairman & CEO, Intralot SA

Q3 Operating cash flow from total operations jumped more than 3 times to €33 million ($37.3 million), contributing to a nearly three-fold increase for the nine months in 2021 to €84.2 million ($95.1 million) compared to the respective periods in 2020, leaving the group with cash of €90.3 million ($102 million) at the end of the reported period. Net debt fell to €501.2 million ($566.4 million) from €641.6 million ($725 million).

Post-Quarter Significant Developments

Mid-November, Intralot launched its new generation Lottery Platform “LotosX” after it was awarded a 10-year contract by Lotto Hamburg, to allow the lottery operator to offer its product portfolio via retail and online channels.

At the beginning of December, Intralot signed an extension to its contract with leading Greek gaming company OPAP SA to continue to supply its numerical lottery products and services to the operator for another year.