Snaitech returns to profit after a decade of losses
Italian operator to prioritise online growth in 2018 in wake of increased retail taxes
Snaitech has returned to profit after ten years of consecutive losses, having successfully integrated the Cogetech business it merged with in 2015.
The Italian operator reported net profit of €27m in its FY17 results, a substantial improvement on the €17m losses of 2016.
EBITDA also increased by 5.9% year-on-year to €135.9m, with Q4 EBITDA levels up by €19.3m on the prior-corresponding-period.
Total revenues however dropped by 1% to €889.6m, largely due to an increase in the tax rate on retail gaming machines which came into force last April.
Snaitech’s online business continued to grow rapidly in 2017, with a 29.9% increase in wagers driven by a 34.3% uptick in online sports betting and a 28.3% rise in online gaming verticals, both as a result of the operator’s cross-selling strategy through its retail business.
Snaitech CEO Fabio Schiavolin
CEO Fabio Schiavolin pinpointed further online growth and the development of a new proprietary technology platform as the two main drivers for Snaitech in 2018.
He said: “The Group successfully finalised the merger with Cogetech by achieving synergies ahead of schedule of approximately €20m.
“I would remark on how such a strong performance, along with strong cash generation was achieved in an unfavourable regulatory framework for operators, owing to a taxation increase on gaming machines last April.
“Snaitech’s growth strategy in such a competitive arena is mainly focused on further growth of the online business and the development of proprietary platform smart technology to rejuvenate our betting distribution network,” he added.
Italian regulators opened the application process for 120 new online gaming licenses in January and more than 80 operators are thought to have applied before the licensing window closed yesterday.