Fiscal first quarter 2015 good for Loto Quebec’s online gambling business
News on 1 Sep 2015
News on 1 Sep 2015
Quebec’s online and land gambling operator Loto Quebec has started fiscal 2015-2016 with a bang, reporting that its Q1-2015 ended June 29 recorded higher revenues and net earnings.
Revenues reaching Cdn$860.5 million (+0.9 percent) and net earnings of $298 .7 million (+2.6 percent), whilst tight resource management helped reduce total expenses by $9 million (-3.7 percent).
A company spokesman noted that the results represented a reversal of a five year trend of declining profits.
Digital operations through Espacejeux saw revenues climb 27.4 percent y-o-y to Cdn$8.5 million, confirming the gain in popularity of online games over the past three fiscal quarters. Management attributed gains to last year’s launch of online bingo, which has been enhanced by a player-sharing agreement with fellow Canadian provinces British Columbia and Manitoba.
In the lotteries sector, revenues rose by 3.3 percent year-on-year to Cdn$433.4 million, mainly due to the greater number of large Lotto Max jackpots offered. Cdn$230 .7 million (+3.6 percent) was remitted to winners, and another 27 prizes worth $1 million or more were paid out, compared to 11 during the matching period last year. Going into the second quarter, sales are higher y-o-y by 88.9 percent for Lotto Max and 15.6 percent for Lotto 6/49 (July 2015 compared to July 2014).
The four land casinos operated by the company reported 6.4 percent higher net earnings despite a 2.2 percent drop in revenues to Cdn$190.6 million, whilst gaming halls and bingo grew by 34.2 percent and 40.5 percent, respectively. The gaming hall sector, which includes the video lottery network, declined slightly by 1.1 percent to Cdn$241.6 million due to lower patronage in bars and brasseries and a smaller number of such establishments.
The Corporation plans to further enhance and diversify its overall entertainment offerings to better meet customer expectations, the report advises.
The quarterly report was more interesting for what it didn’t say, rather than what it did; there was no fresh information on the company’s bid to exclude unlicensed competition from the market through ISP-blocking or the suggestion earlier this year that Loto Quebec may be open to the province licensing selected major online gambling companies.
