DGAP-News: LOTTO24 AG: Lotto24 with good third quarter 2019

Lotto24 with good third quarter 2019

- Billings and revenues increased

- Profitability further improved

- Contracts governing the cooperation with ZEAL signed

(Hamburg, 13 November 2019) Lotto24 AG (Lotto24.de, Tipp24.com), Germany's leading online provider of state lotteries, succeeded in continuing to grow and improve profitability despite the organisational changes resulting from the takeover and the significantly weaker jackpot development compared to the previous year.

In the third quarter of 2019 in particular billings and revenues rose by 11.6% to EUR 83.4 million (prior year: EUR 74.7 million) and by 10.1% to EUR 9.5 million (prior year: EUR 8.7 million), respectively. At 11.4%, our gross margin was slightly below the previous year's figure (prior year: 11.6%). At the same time, the company gained 97 thousand new customers (prior year: 90 thousand) with a cost per lead (CPL) of EUR 26.80 (prior year: EUR 25.78).

In the first nine months of 2019, Lotto24 AG achieved billings of EUR 240.5 million (prior year: EUR 235.9 million, +2.0%), revenues of EUR 27.5 million (prior year: EUR 28.1 million, -2.0 %) and a gross margin of 11.4 % (previous prior year: 11.9 %). The decrease was primarily due to the lower share of lotto clubs as a result of the weaker jackpot environment. With 287 thousand new customers in the first nine months (prior year: 468 thousand), the total number of customers registered with Lotto24 rose to 2,456 thousand (prior year: 2,041 thousand). In line with the comparatively weak jackpot trend, marketing expenses were reduced to EUR 8.0 million (prior year: EUR 12.0 million) with a CPL of EUR 28.04 (prior year: EUR 25.58). For this reason in particular, EBITDA and EBIT rose to EUR 5.3 million (prior year: EUR 3.0 million) and EUR 2.8 million (prior year: EUR 2.2 million), respectively. Before one-off expenses of EUR 1.3 million, EBIT even reached EUR 4.1 million (prior year: EUR 2.2 million). However, due to a strongly positive technical tax effect in the first nine months of 2018, net profit of EUR 3.4 million was down on the previous year (prior year: EUR 7.8 million).

As of 15 October 2019 Lotto24 now also brokers lottery tickets to the state lottery companies via the domains Tipp24.de and Tipp24.com. The corresponding contracts governing the future cooperation with ZEAL were signed on 30 September 2019.

"We were and remain highly aware that these agreements must stand up to scrutiny in compliance with the arm's-length principle. We have taken due account of the fact that both companies can benefit from the contractual relationships in a balanced manner," said Petra von Strombeck, CEO of Lotto24 AG. "However, we are also pleased that the reunification of Tipp24 and Lotto24 has not only strengthened our market position but will also make an even stronger contribution to good causes from now on."

In 2019, Lotto24 plans to further extend the market leadership as an online provider of state licensed lotteries. For Lotto24 AG (stand-alone), the company continues to expect stable figures for billings and revenues due to the exceptionally strong jackpot trend in 2018. As the former Tipp24 secondary lottery was returned to the German brokerage business as announced and Lotto24 now also brokers tickets to the state lottery companies via the domains Tipp24.de and Tipp24.com as of 15 October 2019, billings and revenues - including the resulting positive effects expected - will be higher than the corresponding prior-year figures. The gross margin is expected to remain slightly below the prior year level (previously: stable at prior year level). In addition, the company continues to anticipate a fall in the number of new customers (excluding Tipp24 customers added as a result of the ZEAL business model change) and a rise in CPL. Depending on external conditions, especially the jackpot trend, and marketing investments to attract new customers, EBIT will continue to be well above the break-even point - without consideration of any transaction costs incurred during the takeover. The exact financial implications resulting from the Tipp24 integration can only be predicted more accurately when the Tipp24 customer migration has been more advanced.

About Lotto24 AG: Lotto24 AG is Germany's leading online provider of state-licensed lotteries (Lotto24.de, Tipp24.com) brokers customers' tickets to the state lottery companies and the »Deutsche Fernsehlotterie«, for which it receives a commission. The offerings include among others »Lotto 6aus49«, »Spiel 77«, »Super 6«, »EuroJackpot«, »GlücksSpirale«, lotto clubs, »Keno« and the »Deutsche Fernsehlotterie«. After its foundation in 2010 and IPO in 2012 on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Prime Standard), Lotto24 is now the market leader. In 2019, ZEAL Network SE acquired a majority shareholding in Lotto24, which now belongs to the ZEAL Group. As a fast-growing company with a strong service and customer orientation, Lotto24 aims to provide its customers online as well as mobile with the most convenient, secure and modern game experience possible.

Contact:
Lotto24 AG
Vanina Hoffmann
Manager Investor & Public Relations
Tel.: +49 40 82 22 39 - 501
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: Lotto24-ag.de
Lotto24.de