OPAP’s net profit down

OPAP’s net profit totalled USD 194.7 million in 2013, a 72.1% drop on the USD 697million achieved in the previous year.Full-year revenue also fell 6.6% from USD 5.51 billion in 2012 to USD 5.10 billion in the last 12 months, while gross gaming revenue dropped 6.3% to USD 1.65 billion. Elsewhere, EBITDA fell 67.1% from USD 929.5million in the previous year to USD 305.8 million in 2013.

OPAP was also not helped by its fourth-quarter performance, in which it recorded a net profit of just USD 40.5million, 77.6% lower than the USD 184.5 million achieved in the corresponding period last year.

While EBITDA also dropped 72.7% to USD 65.6 million in the quarter, OPAP was able to record a 4.3% increase in revenue to USD 1.5 billion.

Kamil Ziegler, chairman and chief executive officer of OPAP, said that despite the disappointing overall performance, the firm’s results in Q4 were “encouraging” and is keen to push for further improvements in 2014.

“Within an overall difficult year for the Greek economy, OPAP’s financial results of the fourth quarter mark an encouraging trend,” Ziegler said.

“The addition of extra features in a variety of products in our portfolio, along with the stabilisation of consumer spending, led to an increase of revenues year-on-year, which is a positive indication for 2014. It is important to note that 2013 was the first year that a 30% gross gaming revenue tax was applied, which in terms of OPAP’s numbers translates into a yield of USD 475.9million for the Greek state.”

“We remain focused on the improvement of OPAP’s operational efficiency as well as on the modernisation of our product portfolio, towards the benefit of all our stakeholders: customers, agents, shareholders and the Greek state and society as a whole,” he concluded.