OPAP results hit by “unprecedented economic conditions”

Third-quarter earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell by 14.4 percent year-on-year to 155 million euros while net profit decreased by 16.1 percent when compared with the same period in 2011 to 113.6 million euros.

The Greek government is currently in the process of offloading its 33 percent stake in OPAP with the operator stating that nine-month revenues diminished by 7.8 percent year-on-year to 2.9 billion euros due to ‘unprecedented economic conditions’.

Gross gaming revenues for the nine months preceding September 30 also lessened by 7.8 percent year-on-year to 950.4 million euros while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation diminished by nine percent when compared with the same period in 2011 to 499.6 million euros despite a ‘resilient’ margin of 17 percent.

For the third quarter, OPAP said that it had reduced its distribution costs by 26.1 percent year-on-year to 16.2 million euros while these expenses were 9.3 percent lower over the nine months to the end of September when compared with 2011 to 65.5 million euros.

Despite these declines, OPAP stated that it was in a ‘strong’ cash position with access to 340.7 million euros and additionally welcomed the Greek Ministry of Finance’s agreement with the European Commission regarding its future tax and commission rates.

“[The third quarter of] 2012 was decisive for OPAP as it clarified the tax framework for the future,” said Constantinos Louropoulos, Chairman and CEO for OPAP. “We now have a clear basis to plan our operations in a solid and business responsive manner. OPAP contributed to the illegal gambling fight in Greece, protecting both the company’s and consumers’ rights. As an indication of new strategies, we plan to improve our games’ content and offer live betting in a more competitive way. We also plan to adjust our commercial and marketing strategies in order to counterbalance the tax burden on players’ winnings. “In addition, we shall rationalise social contributions, according to business performance.

“Last, we are still working towards acquiring the state lottery and instant tickets concession along with international industry players. These initiatives aim at optimising our financials and streamlining our operations in a new challenging environment,” he concluded.