OPAP heavily impacted by retrospective tax
News on 31 May 2016
News on 31 May 2016
Greek gaming giant OPAP said it has been severely impacted by retrospective tax in its latest quarterly report for the three month period ending March 31, 2016.
The interim management statement reported a 4.4 percent drop in gross gaming revenues (GGR) to Euro 340.7 million (Q1/2015: Euro 356.3 million) impacted largely by a drop in sports betting which was partially counterbalanced by the performance of numerical games.
EBITDA remained flat at Euro 93 million (Q1/2015: Euro 93.2 million) controlled by cost cutting strategies. Accounting for the increase in taxes on GGR, adjusted EBITDA stood at Euro 78.8 million.
Other key performance indicators included:
Enhanced EBITDA margin of 27.3 percent (Q1/2015: 26.2 percent).
Net Profit amounted to Euro 52.8 million (Q1/2015: Euro 58.1 million), down 9.0 percent. Accounting for the increase in GGR contribution, adjusted net profit stood at Euro 42.8 million.
Sportsbetting gross gaming revenues dropped 14.1 percent to Euro 102.5 million from Euro 119.3 million Y-O-Y, attributed to a decline in its Stithima product..
Gross gaming revenues for Lottery increased 2.4 percent to Euro 201.1 million while Instant and Passives dropped 8.7 percent to Euro 37.1 million.
Strong cash position of Euro 343.2 million.
Additional distribution of retained earnings amounting to Euro 0.57 per share.
“As evident in official figures Q1 2016 was marked by persisting pressure on disposable income & private consumption, thus leading our games’ portfolio revenue to trend towards lower numbers on a y-o-y level,” chairman and chief executive officer, Kamil Ziegler, said.
“In addition, increased GGR contribution of 35% carried a severe impact on our reported numbers despite our ongoing efforts related to cost optimization, which would otherwise lead to stable operating profitability vs. the same period last year”.
OPAP said despite facing an increased tax base and having paid almost Euro 2 Billion in taxation over the past three years, it remains fully focused on its long-term plan which will benefit the Greek economy and society as a whole.
