European lottery operator SAZKA Group has reported a 66% per cent increase in gross gaming revenue to €769 million for the three months to 30 September 2020.

Adjusted EBITDA, which excludes certain one-off items, increased by 32% year-on-year to €207 million. Consolidated profit after tax decreased by 33% year-on-year to €48 million, impacted by a €54 million restructuring provision. Profit after tax increased by 3% year-on-year.

In November, KKCG and SAZKA Group announced that funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, one of the world’s leading investors in gaming, will invest €500 million in a newly formed holding company which will become the owner of SAZKA Group at a valuation of €4.2 billion.

Robert Chvatal, SAZKA Group CEO, commented: “All of our businesses traded well in Q3 as lockdown measures were eased and online sales remained high.

The swift return to normalised trading in the markets and channels that were more affected by restrictions in H1 demonstrates the resilient underlying demand for our products as well as the agility of our teams across the regions.

We are particularly pleased to report that the strong momentum in online sales, including traditional products and digital-only games, has been maintained even as restrictions eased. Online is a major strategic focus for us and our investments and the changes in customer behaviour in the last several months will bring long term benefits.

In Austria, we are now making good progress in the restructuring of the Austrian casinos, which aims to deliver around €45 million of annual cost savings, future-proofing the casinos by deliver a flexible, resilient and profitable business.

We now have a majority stake in Stoiximan Group’s Greek and Cypriot business, the undisputed leader in online gaming in those markets. This further consolidates our position as the leader in the Greek and
Cypriot markets and is complementary to OPAP’s growing online presence.

I’m also delighted about the recent strategic investment in our business by Apollo. The €500 million investment will help to take our business to the next level and represents a vote of confidence in our platform and strategy for future growth from one of the world’s leading investors in gaming and largest alternative investment managers.