FDJ reports turnover up 4% for the first nine months of 2023
French operator sees turnover hit €1.88bn as the CEO provided an update on the ZEturf and Premier Lotteries Ireland acquisitions
France’s national lottery operator, Française des Jeux (FDJ), has announced that turnover rose 4% year-on-year (YoY) to €1.88bn (£1.64bn) for the nine months to the end of September.
Excluding lottery games Amigos and Euromillions, turnover increased 5% YoY, the operator said. However, lottery turnover was €1.4bn, down 1.2%.
The FDJ cited a fall in Amigo activity since June to be “linked to the new formula of the game revised at the request of the regulator”. It added that Euromillions was down to a low number of high jackpot draws in Q3.
Revenue from sports betting and online games stood at €360m, an increase of 9.3%, due to “the continued momentum” from the 2022 World Cup last November and December.
At the end of the September, gross gaming product (GRP) amounted to €4.8bn, up 1.3% YOY.
Meanwhile, the FDJ confirmed the completion of acquisition of ZEturf, a horseracing operator with a market share of around 20% in France, and highlighted how it strengthen its online offering from Q4. ZEturf generated turnover of more than €50m in 2022.
FDJ also revealed the deal to acquire Premier Lotteries Ireland – the operator of the Irish lottery – has been “authorised by the Irish lottery regulator in early October [and] should be finalised in early November”.
For the entire 2023 financial year, the FDJ maintains its target is an increase in turnover of 5%, or 1.5% to 2% on a comparable basis, with an EBITDA margin of 24%.
Stéphane Pallez, FDJ group chair and CEO, remarked that despite the low number of large Euromillions jackpots, growth remains on track and the aforementioned two acquisitions “will fuel the sustainable and profitable growth of the group”.
Pallez said: “Our growth remains solid, with player demand still well oriented, even if our activity is occasionally affected by the low number of high Euromillions jackpots.
“At the same time, the finalisation of the acquisition of ZEturf at the end of September and that to come in November of Premier Lotteries Ireland illustrate our strategy of internationalisation and diversification.
“We are delighted that the teams of these two operators are joining FDJ and that these operations will fuel the sustainable and profitable growth of the group,” she added.