Sazka sees nearly 30 percent rise in Q1 GGR

Sazka Group posted gross gaming revenue of EUR526.3m for Q1 2021, a rise of 29.9 percent year-on-year.

The company reported EUR257.4m in GGR for the Austrian market, a decline of 16.7 percent on the previous year. The contribution from the firm’s Austrian and international casinos during the quarter was extremely limited, due to coronavirus- related closures.

The Czech market generated EUR95.7m in GGR, a rise of 24.3 percent. Greece and Cyprus contributed EUR174.2m, a fall of 46.9 percent, which Sazka attributed to the closure of its retail activities in these markets for much of the quarter.

The firm recorded adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of EUR144.4m, an increase of 4.3 percent, while profit after tax of EUR35.2m, up 44.3 percent on the same quarter of last year.

The company said the growth in revenue and profits was partly thanks to the consolidation of Casinos Austria AG, following Sazka’s acquisition of a controlling stake in the operator in June 2020.

“Overall, I am very pleased with Sazka Group’s continuing strong performance in Q1 2021,” said Sazka’s CEO Robert Chvatal. “I look forward to a great year as our strong trading momentum persists, our impacted businesses in Greece and Austria return to normal conditions, and we continue to make progress on our strategic objectives.”