The leading gaming operator in Greece, OPAP, released its latest financial results Tuesday. The company reported strong growth in gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the third quarter and the first nine months of 2022.
OPAP Releases Third Quarter Results, GGR up 6.1%
In total, OPAP’s GGR for the third quarter this year hit €498.8 million ($517.3 million), marking a solid 6.1% increase when compared to the €470.2 million ($487.7 million) in GGR reported for the corresponding period in 2021. Net gaming revenue (NGR) for the period increased as well, hitting €340 million ($352.5 million) in Q3 2022. This result, when compared to the €327.3 million ($339.4 million) reported in Q3 last year, marks an increase of 5%.
Not unexpectedly, gross profit from gaming operations in Q3 increased as well. In Q3 last year, gross profit was €185.4 million ($192.2 million), while for the same period this year, it increased by 10.3% hitting €204.6 million ($212.1 million). EBITDA in Q3 this year increased by 12.9% to €197.6 million ($204.9 million) when compared to the €175 million ($181.3 million) result from Q3 last year. OPAP also reported a net profit of €118.5 million ($122.8 million) for the third quarter of this year. When compared to the €99.3 million ($102.9 million), reported in net profit for the same period in 2021, strong growth of 19.4% is observed.
A detailed breakdown of the €498.8 million in GGR shows that OPAP’s online operations impacted positively the result and delivered a strong performance. The operator’s online casino operations in Q3 reported €55.1 million ($57.1 million) in GGR, marking a 31.4% increase when compared to the result from the same period last year.
Results for the First Nine Months Mark Improvement
Considering the third quarter results, it is clear that OPAP is on its way to recovering from the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. What’s more, with the pandemic residing, there are almost no restrictions that negatively impact the company’s operations.
But while OPAP posted strong third quarter results, data outlining the performance of the company for the first nine months of the year shows further improvement. For the first nine months of 2022, the company’s GGR hit €1.39 billion ($1.44 billion), marking an increase of 34.4% when compared to the €1.04 billion ($1.08 billion) reported for the first nine months of 2021. Gross profit in the first nine months this year increased by 40% to €574.8 million ($595.6 million), while NGR hit €956.7 million ($991.3 million), marking an increase of 37.2%.
“Our Q3 2022 performance was characterized by the continuing retail rebound, as a result of occasional players gradually returning to the game, and the sustained strong growth in online.“
Jan Karas, CEO at OPAP
Jan Karas, OPAP’s CEO, acknowledged that the company’s Q3 results were positively impacted by strong growth within the online vertical in combination with an increase in the retail sector. He explained that the business gradually returned to its normal operations which resulted in “an improved EBITDA margin, while contributing to OPAP’s solid financial position.”
“Looking ahead – and as the much-anticipated, landmark event of World Cup has just kicked off – we believe this encouraging momentum to lead to a strong finish for the year,“
added Karas
Karas added that the company continued to deliver unique products which boosted the player experience and proved the effectiveness of the company’s “Fast Forward strategy.” Finally, OPAP’s CEO predicted that the start of the World Cup will boost the results in the next quarter and predicted positive momentum until the end of the year.