Lottery: Tipp24 results are positive

11/17/09 - Last week's dismal warnings from German lottery company JAXX AG have been ameliorated this week by a set of positive YTD results from Hamburg-based Tipp24 AG.
 
The online lottery operator has released its financial results for the nine months of 2009 showing a 62.8 percent year-on-year rise in revenues to Euro 53.7 million.

As a result, the German firm has retracted a profits warning that it instituted in September this year and is confident that its consolidated EBITDA for the full year should reach Euro 43 million. The predictions issued in September have fortunately been overtaken by better business which has moved the estimates up by some Euro 13 million on revenues that are now expected to reach Euro 73 million by year-end.
 
This amount could reach Euro 95 million when income from successful hedging transactions is added.
 
Hans Cornehl, Executive Board Member for Tipp24, used the announcement of the improved results to criticise the inequitable and protectionist bans imposed in Germany through the notorious State Treaty on Gaming , noting that this has failed to reach its objectives.
 
“This has now been recognised by Schleswig-Holstein’s government," the executive noted, confirming speculation that the state of Schleswig Holstein is pulling out of the treaty, thus neutralising it. "In the long term, politicians will not be able to restrict the development of the fast-growing market for online lottery brokerage. We are, thus, optimistic that we can resume our business activities in Germany in the medium-term.”
 
Tipp24's EBITDA for the nine-month period more than quintupled from Euro 6.3 million in 2008 to Euro 33.1 million most recently while consolidated net profits improved to Euro 25.1 million from Euro 4.7 million.
 
The good results were mainly possible through non-German markets with revenues from this segment soaring to Euro 52.9 million for the first nine months of 2009 from Euro 4.2 million in 2008 while EBITDA grew to Euro 42.7 million from a loss last year of Euro 1.6 million.