La Française des Jeux: Revenue to End-September up 12%, and 6% on a Like-for-like Basis
Upward adjustment of the 2024 outlook
Successful tender offer for Kindred
-- Revenue to end-September up 12% to EUR2,097m, up 6% on a like-for-like
basis1
-- Gaming revenue in France2 up 8% to EUR1,907m
-- Lottery revenue up 7% to EUR1.5bn, thanks to a strong
performance across all game ranges
-- 13% revenue growth in sports betting and online gaming open
to competition to EUR407m
-- Point-of-sale revenue rose by 3% in France and by 9% including
Ireland. Digital revenue came to EUR302m, up 39% or 25% on a
like-for-like basis, representing 15% of total revenue
-- 2024 outlook revised upward
-- In the FDJ scope, the Group now expects revenue growth of close to
9% and above 5% for its gaming activities in France, along with a
recurring EBITDA margin of around 25%
-- Including Kindred from 11 October and based on the activities
retained by FDJ, growth in reported 2024 revenue would be around
16%, with a recurring EBITDA margin of around 25%
-- Success of FDJ's tender offer for Kindred
-- FDJ owns a 91.77% stake in Kindred since 11 October, which will be
increased to 100% in the coming weeks following the extension of
the tender offer period to 18 October and the squeeze-out
-- This acquisition creates a European champion with a diversified
and balanced profile
-- Moody's confirms the very good ESG score of the FDJ Group, number 1 in
the Hotel, Leisure Goods and Services sector
BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--October 17, 2024--
Regulatory News:
La Française des Jeux (FDJ) (Paris:FDJ) announces its revenue to end-September 2024.
Stéphane Pallez, Chairwoman and CEO of the FDJ Group, said: "FDJ continues to deliver a solid financial and non-financial performance, which allows us to confirm our growth and profitability trend for the year as a whole. This performance was driven both by the lottery and by sports betting and online gaming open to competition, and by all our distribution channels, with a network of points of sale in progression and strong momentum from digital games. The Group also reached a major milestone in the implementation of its strategy with the completion of the Kindred acquisition in early October, creating a European champion with a diversified and balanced profile for the benefit of all our stakeholders."
-- Success of FDJ's tender offer for Kindred and creation of a European
gaming champion
At the end of the tender offer period on 2 October, 195,659,291 Kindred Group plc Swedish Depositary Receipts (SDRs), representing 90.66% of the share capital(3) , had been tendered. FDJ had also acquired 2,400,000 Kindred SDRs directly from Veralda, representing 1.11% of the Group's capital(3) .
FDJ has completed this acquisition and, following the settlement-delivery of the shares on 11 October, holds 91.77% of Kindred's capital.
In addition, to enable Kindred shareholders who have not tendered their shares to do so on unchanged terms, i.e. SEK 130 per SDR, FDJ has extended its offer until 18 October 2024 at 5 p.m. CEST. Settlement and delivery of these shares will take place from 29 October. At the same time, FDJ will implement a squeeze-out procedure.
Kindred is one of the top five online betting and gaming players in Western Europe, present in seven of the top ten European markets, including the Netherlands, the UK, France, Sweden and Belgium. It offers a comprehensive online offering (sports and horse-race betting, poker and casino), operating brands such as Unibet and 32Red.
This transaction, amounting to EUR2.5 billion for all shares, creates a European champion with a diversified and balanced profile, based on monopoly activities, primarily lotteries, in France and Ireland, and on online sports betting and gaming activities open to competition in Europe.
The new combined group resulting from this offer will generate around 26% of its revenue internationally, and its online gaming range open to competition will account for around 27% of its revenue.
The FDJ group estimates(4) that it would have recorded:
-- If Kindred had been acquired on 1 January 2023, combined revenue of
around EUR3.5 billion and combined recurring EBITDA of around EUR840
million for the full year 2023;
-- If Kindred had been acquired on 1 January 2024:
-- Combined revenue of EUR1.9 billion and combined recurring EBITDA
of around EUR490 million for the first half of 2024;
-- Combined revenue of EUR2.8 billion at end-September 2024.
On 14 October, in accordance with the commitment made by FDJ when the acquisition was announced, Kindred's Board of Directors decided to cease operating, by the end of the year, Kindred's activities in markets that are not locally regulated (Norway and other .com sites).
-- Moody's confirms FDJ's very good ESG score
Moody's, a provider of environmental, social and governance $(ESG.NZ)$ ratings and data, has given FDJ a score of 71/100 in 2024. FDJ thus retains first place among companies in the Hotel, Leisure Goods and Services sector. The Group also ranks 31st out of over 4,500 companies worldwide rated by Moody's.
-- Activity to end-September
At the end of September 2024, gross gaming revenue $(GGR)$ amounted to EUR5.393 billion, up 12.2%. After EUR3,403 million in public levies, gross gaming revenue $(GGR.AU)$ rose by 12.3% to EUR1,990 million.
After taking into account income from other activities of EUR107 million, the FDJ Group's revenue at end-September amounted to EUR2,097 million, up 11.9% and 5.8% on a like-for-like basis.
Revenue* (in EUR millions)
O/w on a O/w on a
Change like-for-like Q3 Q3 Change like-for-like
EURm 9m 2024 9m 2023 in % basis 2024 2023 in % basis
--------------- -------- -------- ------- -------------- ----- ----- ------- --------------
Lottery 1,500 1,407 +6.6% +6.6% 495 449 +10.0% +10.0%
--------------- -------- -------- ------- -------------- ----- ----- ------- --------------
Sports betting
and online
gaming open
to
competition 407 360 +13.3% +5.0% 113 103 +10.3% +0.6%
--------------- -------- -------- ------- -------------- ----- ----- ------- --------------
International
and Payment &
Services 190 108 N/A -3.4% 61 33 N/A +2.1%
--------------- -------- -------- ------- -------------- ----- ----- ------- --------------
Group total 2,097 1,875 +11.9% +5.8% 669 586 +14.2% +8.0%
--------------- -------- -------- ------- -------------- ----- ----- ------- --------------
* Revenue: net gaming income and income from other activities
Revenue of EUR2.097 billion, up 11.9% and 5.8% on a like-for-like basis
-- Gaming revenue in France rose by 8.0% to EUR1,907 million.
-- Lottery revenue totalled EUR1,500 million, up 6.6%. The digital
momentum remains very strong, up 23.9%, taking the lottery's
digital penetration to 14.0% versus 12.0% at end-September 2023.
Revenue from instant games rose 7.8%, driven by the success of the
games portfolio, including the launch of Ticket d'Or (EUR5) in
early January and the phygital game Maxi Black Jack (EUR5) in May.
Revenue from draw games rose by 4.7%, and by 9.9% excluding Amigo.
This performance was driven in particular by EuroDreams and more
attractive Euromillions jackpots than in 2023, while Amigo
returned to growth at the start of June.
-- Revenue from sports betting and online gaming open to competition came to
EUR407 million, up 13.3% and up 5.0% on a like-for-like basis. After the
Euro football championship, sports betting also benefited from the Paris
2024 Olympic Games which, although a smaller event in terms of sports
betting, nonetheless stimulated the offering. Online business continues
to enjoy sustained growth, up 28.4% on a like-for-like basis. This
performance reflects the intrinsic strength of ParionsSport en ligne,
which is also benefiting from the attractiveness of poker, with a high
level of cross-selling.
-- Revenue from other activities (International and Payment & Services) came
to EUR190 million, compared with EUR108 million at end-September 2023, an
increase attributable to the integration of PLI, which performed well,
driven in particular thanks to EuroDreams and instant games.
-- By distribution channel:
-- Digital revenue rose sharply, by 39.3% including the acquisitions
of PLI and ZEturf, and by 24.8% on a like-for-like basis. This
growth was driven both by sports betting and online gaming open to
competition and by the online lottery, which benefited from
EuroDreams' very high rate of digitalisation, as well as the
attractiveness of instant games and the exclusive online offer. As
a result, digital accounts for 15.2% of total revenue, compared
with 12.2% at end-September 2023. This performance is still
largely attributable to the increase in the number of players.
-- Point-of-sale revenue rose by 8.6%, mainly due to the integration
of PLI. In France, point-of-sale revenue advanced 2.7%.
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
October 17, 2024 12:17 ET (16:17 GMT)
Comments