Codere benefits from Latin America results

Madrid-based Codere revealed that earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the nine months had risen by 12.7 percent year-on-year to 235.6 million euros while the third-quarter figure amounted to 80.1 million euros, which was above its previously predicted forecast of between 75 million to 78 million euros.

However, capital expenditure for the period totaled nearly 400 million euros with 169.9 million euros of this corresponding to maintenance including 107.1 million euros for licence renewals in Argentina while overall net income was in the red to the tune of 34.4 million euros, which was mainly due to the provision of assets registered in Mexico as part of an ongoing restructuring.

Codere stated that it operates more than 56,833 gaming terminals, 186 gaming halls, 1,300 betting points and three racetracks in addition to online betting in Italy and reported that it held a cash balance on September 30 of 116.8 million euros in addition to an available credit line of 55.4 million euros.

“Despite the challenging global economic environment, the growth in revenues in [our] main markets of Mexico, Argentina and Italy were noteworthy,” read a statement from Codere. “In Argentina, sales during the first nine months of the year totaled 508.3 million euros, 26.2 percent more than the previous year, driven mainly by the increase in the number of gaming machines installed and the expansion of the Mar del Plata Gaming Hall.

In Mexico, sales rose 60 percent to 327.4 million euros in the first nine months of the year due to the consolidation of the operations acquired from partners in this market. It also stated that sales in Italy in the first nine months increased by 28.3 percent reaching 193.7 million euros due to the operation of video lottery terminals and the consolidation of the recently acquired AWP machine operators Gap Games, Gaming Re and Dalla Pria Services.

“In Spain, the deteriorating macroeconomic environment, the effect of the smoking ban and the rationalisation of gaming terminals have caused an 11% decline in sales during the first nine months of 2012,” the firm concluded.