Strong revenue growth for Novomatic in the first half of 2011

It was primarily our core market of Italy, which is increasingly gaining in importance that accounted for the increase registered by the rentals segment. Earnings before depreciation (EBITDA) reached 225.7 million euros. Operating results (EBIT) amounted to 108.6 million euros – similar to the previous year. The EBIT margin reached 16.6%.

Earnings for the period amounted to 52.8 million euros, a decrease of 7.8% over the same period in the previous year. This drop was mainly due to the increase in financial expenses associated with the complete takeover of online subsidiary Greentube. By excluding this one-time effect, earnings come to 67.8 million euros, 18.3% above the results of the previous year. The average number of employees rose by 13.4% to 11,493, of which more than 2,500 are based in Austria.

“We have managed to substantially increase our group revenues. Our EBIT margin of 16.6% shows the remarkable profitability of our operations. The acquisitions realized this year have, in addition, further strengthened our position on our core markets of Germany, Italy and Austria. This is why I look ahead with optimism,” comments Novomatic CEO Dr. Franz Wohlfahrt on the results for the first half-year 2011.

 The acquisition of 92.04% in Spielbank Berlin in January 2011 strengthened the firm’s position on the German market. Spielbank Berlin has one of the largest revenues among German operators of live game casinos.

Last July, Novomatic increased its stake in G.Matica, one of the ten concessionaires for Video Lottery Terminals in Italy. The Novomatic Group now owns a majority stake of 80.94%. G.Matica holds concessions for 2,236 Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs).

Novomatic is the largest supplier of Video Lottery Terminals in Italy. By the end of this year, about 10,000 of these terminals will be installed for the various concessionaires in the country. The further rollout is planned to serve as a basis for sustainable growth on this market in the next years.

In August 2011, the firm acquired the remaining 30% of Greentube Internet Entertainment Solutions GmbH and is now 100% owned by Novomatic. Greentube is a company based in Vienna. It provides content to licensed B2B customers.

In January 2011, Novomatic took over 70% of the shares of Empire Games, a developer and manufacturer of gaming devices in the United Kingdom.

The Novomatic Group assumes that the positive development of its business in Germany and in Italy will continue. In order to exploit further market opportunities, the company is planning to take part in a partial tender for a total of 15 casino licenses for Austria and in one for automat licenses in the country’s states.

The revenue growth achieved in 2011 is largely based on increases in the gaming operations, other activities (online gaming) as well as rental segments. The firm expects to achieve substantial revenue growth in 2011 as a whole.

The ongoing rollout of the Video Lottery Terminals and of the related networks in Italy has become a priority for Novomatic. A goodly portion of the investments is foreseen for Italy. The Austrian firm expects its Italian subsidiaries to achieve further growth in revenues and earnings.