OPAP, Europe’s fourth-largest betting firm by revenue reported net profits of 34.6 mn EUR up 32% in Q2 2019.

Gross winnings (bets received less payouts) increased by 6.5 % to EUR 384m mainly due to rising VLT revenues up 54% to EUR 71m. Gross Win from lotteries, which are the most important segment of the company, grew for the third consecutive quarter to 188 mn EUR, on the other hand the decline continued in the sports betting segment to 90 mn EUR.

EBITDA was up 24% to EUR 87m , which is besides revenue growth due to cost-cutting measures for IT and marketing costs. The number of installed VLTs remained at the same level as at the end of 1Q (20,000) due to the resolution of some procedural issues in the legislation. Debt of the company according to the ratio of net debt to EBITDA decreased compared to 1Q to 0.9x (from 1.2x).

“OPAP achieved a solid performance in the first half of 2019 and we believe we are in a good position to sustain this momentum for the rest of 2019 and successfully achieve our goals for the year,” OPAP chief executive said, Damian Cope.