OPAP profits down with privatisation bids due
Formal bids for governments 33% stake due by next month as overall revenues fall by almost 10%.
Greek monopoly operator OPAP claims it has demonstrated “considerable resilience in a harsh macroeconomic environment”, revealing that 2012 revenues fell by 9% compared to the previous year.
In financial results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2012, OPAP’s overall turnover stood at 3.9bn compared to 4.35bn in FY 2011, while EBITDA was down 8.2% to 673.8m. Net profit fell to 505.5m from 537.5m in the previous year.
The less-than-impressive results round off a tough 2012 for the operator, which saw almost a fifth wiped off its share price in September due to significant tax changes by the Greek government.
It now faces a pivotal few months with formal offers for the state’s 33% stake due in April, while plans to launch an online business become increasingly important for the company’s future profitability.
Analysts have valued the government’s stake at close to 1bn given the operator’s market dominance and proposed plans to enter other regulated markets and diversify its offering into online gaming in the near future. Among the potential suitors is a consortium involving Playtech and its German JV partner Gauselmann, and Fosun International, a Chinese business conglomerate with interests in and pharmaceuticals, property, steel, and mining.
Greece will hope a series of blows, relating to the tougher tax framework and lawsuits from foreign operators, will not significantly damage the value of the stake.
OPAP came under intense pressure from the likes of the Remote Gambling Authority (RGA) throughout last year, which has long claimed its monopoly is in breach of EU competition laws. After the European Court of Justice ruled that its sports betting and games of chance monopoly was illegal in January, OPAP’s share price again saw a double digit fall.
With the Greek government stalling on egaming regulation since announcing plans to begin issuing licences in 2011, OPAP’s online strategy has yet to come to the fore. It revealed plans to launch online gaming and to expand its services into a number of regulated in early 2012, and confirmed the selection of GTECH G2 in July the same year.
However a bill leaked in December 2012 would see OPAP maintain a monopoly across all online betting until 2020, contradicting the regulator’s plans to begin a limited licensing process. The amendment to Greek law 4002/2011would cancel the interim licences of the 24 operators that paid taxes to the regulator in order to continue operating until the official licensing process began.