OPAP Reported Stable Q3 2020, Revenues Decrease 0.7%

Athens-headquartered lottery and sports betting monopoly OPAP SA issued its third quarter earnings report posting a relatively stable quarter with a marginal decrease in revenues.

The sport betting operator posted 0.7% decrease in group’s revenues year-over year, to €391 million mainly due to its cautious approach to slowly move its operating units towards business normality. OPAP’s sports and VLT units accounted for most of the quarter revenues having experienced strong comeback.

“Our Q3 results demonstrate our ability to ensure operational readiness during unfortunate times and deliver healthy results upon the lift of lockdown measures.”

Jan Karas, Acting CEO, OPAP SA

Gross gaming revenue (GGR) from gaming operations for the quarter rose by 14% to €105 million, compared to €92 million for the third quarter in 2019, while revenues from VLT was €80 million, up 10% from €73 million for the same three-month period the prior year.

Lottery GGR dropped 9% to €179 million, from €197 million for Q3 in 2019, due to the drop in customer footfall as a result of the fragmentation of the opening of the retail business, bringing the year-to-date group revenues down 23.4% year-over-year, from €1.17 billion for the same year-to-date (YTD) in 2019, to €898.9 million.

“Going forward, in the volatile environment of the pandemic and the second lockdown, our focus remains on protecting and actively supporting our employees, partners and stakeholders, safeguarding our healthy financial position and enhancing our product proposition.”

Jan Karas, Acting CEO, OPAP SA

OPAP noted the timely implementation of containment measures related to the ongoing virus outbreak and aimed at lowering the group’s YTD operating costs had positive effect and brought down operating costs by 5% to €182 million. The operator’s YTD marketing expenses are significantly down compared to the same period last year, 20%, to €35 million.

“We remain confident in our ability to face future challenges and deliver positive results.”

Jan Karas, Acting CEO, OPAP SA

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) year-to-date stands at €207 million, down 31% compared to the €305 million for the same period in 2019.

In October, OPAP teamed with Inspired Entertainment to launch its virtual basketball game in Greece, making V-Play Basketball the third channel of virtual sports, alongside V-Play Soccer 3.0 and Matchday, available across the entire operator’s retail estate of nearly 3,700 betting shops.