Tuesday November 25,2014 : OPAP ON THE UP
Cost cutting and new products pay dividends
Greece's OPAP has reached analyst’s high end forecasts in its nine month and third quarter results released Tuesday.
The improvement in results has been attributed to cost-cutting measures imposed by OPAP along with the rejuvenation of the products it offers the public.
Key performance highlights include:
– A 26 percent rise in Net profit to Euro 55.9 million from Euro 44.4 million in the same period last year.
– An interim dividend of Euro 0.23 a share, the first time an interim payout has been made since 2010.
– EBITDA rose 33 percent to Euro 94.2 million, aided by a 30 percent drop in annual distribution costs.
– Sales of OPAP's flagship sports betting game Stihima rose 19 percent to Euro 1.07 billion.
Looking ahead, OPAP wants to expand into video lotto products, a strategy analysists say will position the company for growth as its moves forward.