Casino Austria AG steps up as Sazka Group records 66% Q3 revenue rise
Austrian casino brand accounts for 65% of increase as Czech gambling giant continues to deal with coronavirus crisis
Sazka Group has posted a 66% year-on-year (YoY) rise in gross gaming revenue (GGR) mainly driven by its Austrian casino arm.
Sazka recorded €768.9m (£696.1m) in Q3 2020 GGR, up from €463m in Q3 2019. Its Casinos Austria AG (CASAG) subsidiary accounted for 65% of the rise in revenue.
The group’s Q3 2020 EBITDA leapt 32% to €207m from €156.9m in Q3 2019, while net gaming margin jumped 44% YoY to €455.9m in Q3 20202.
Despite the positive financials, Sazka’s post-tax profits fell by 33% YoY from €71.9m in Q3 2019 to €48.5m in Q3 2020.
Sazka highlighted that the decrease in profit related to the financial restructuring roadmap with the CASAG brand.
In Q3, €54m was set aside as part of the “restructuring provision” for CASAG, which followed on from the decision made in July by the CASAG supervisory board to optimise the business.
CASAG is set to generate cost savings of around €45m per year, with the full run-rate expected to be achieved in 2022.
Robert Chvatal, Sazka CEO, said the reintroduction of coronavirus restrictions across Europe had begun to have an impact on the group’s operations.
Chvatal said: “In recent weeks, some Covid-related restrictions have been reintroduced across our geographies, having some impact on our business. With our resilient business and strong management team having coped well with the situation earlier in the year, we are well placed to manage the business through the current restrictions.”
Chvatal went on to praise the strength of Sazka’s product portfolio in driving customer interest, and appeared optimistic about the future.
He said: “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.
“Overall, I’m very pleased with Sazka Group’s strong performance in Q3 and so far in Q4 and the strategic progress made so far this year. I am confident in our ability to manage any further challenges and emerge with an even more resilient business that is well positioned for growth,” he added.