Intralot’s 44.3 percent profit rise mostly due to its foreign operations
Gaming systems operator Intralot reported a 44.3 percent rise in first-quarter pretax profit yesterday, as robust results from its foreign operations offset slowing revenues from a key betting game. The world’s third-largest lottery supplier by sales said pretax profit rose to 41.6 million euros ($50.28 million), with foreign subsidiaries accounting for slightly more than half. CEO Constantinos Antonopoulos said foreign growth offset a 28 percent drop in revenues to 298 million euros from soccer betting game «Stoichima,» which it operates for Europe’s largest gaming company OPAP. «In the first quarter, Intralot’s revenues and profits managed to grow substantially, despite the apparent slowdown in Stoichima offered in Greece. This indicates that the group has well diversified its operations globally,» he said. Intralot has operations in Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Poland, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Cyprus, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Colombia and the US. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 25.5 percent to 39.3 million euros, while sales increased 57.4 percent to 117.5 million euros, with foreign units making up 74.4 percent of the total.
