OPAP: Strong performance in the nine months – Customer-centered initiatives

The resilience of retail activities and the development of online activities played a key role in the strong performance recorded by OPAP in the first nine months of 2021, as noted by the company’s management, during the presentation of the financial results of the third quarter to analysts.

Net income before contributions (GGR) for the nine months stood at 1.040 billion euros, up 15.7% year on year. At quarterly level, GGRs amounted to 470.2 million euros (+ 20.3% compared to the third quarter of 2020). Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the nine months reached 379.9 million Euros (+ 83% on an annual basis), while EBITDA for the third quarter amounted to 175 million Euros (+ 66.1% against of the third quarter of 2020). In addition, the net profit for the nine months amounted to 178.2 million euros (+ 143.4% per year), while the net profit for the third quarter amounted to 96.1 million euros (+ 82% on an annual basis).

In this context, the CEO of OPAP, Jan Karas, noted to analysts that the company showed strong operating profitability in all its activities. In addition, he referred to the implementation of important initiatives that further upgrade and digitize the customer experience, such as the OPAP Rewards program.

Customer-centered initiatives

As Mr. Karas noted, a key pillar of OPAP’s Fast Forward strategy is to place the customer at the center of the company’s activities. In this context, during the third quarter of 2021, OPAP implemented a series of initiatives to further upgrade the OPAP proposal to the customer (customer proposition).

Typically, the company proceeded to strengthen its product portfolio in the agencies, with the new virtual NBA game, new games in the VLTs and the second chance draw in special editions of SCRATS. Also, despite the challenges of the pandemic, by the end of the third quarter, the development of 171 new or renovated stores had been completed. In total, more than 40% of the OPAP store network consists of new or upgraded stores.

Utilization of digital technologies and capabilities is a key element of new stores. In fact, new modern audio solutions have already been installed in more than 450 stores, while the company plans to install new projection systems. Also, during the summer months, the company carried out a series of promotions and CRM actions both in the retail and in the online channel.

The loyalty program and digitization in the foreground

During the third quarter, OPAP reaped the benefits of the recently introduced OPAP Rewards loyalty program, which plays a key role in further digitizing the agency network. The management of the company expressed its satisfaction for the positive impact of the program, in which more than 460,000 customers had registered by the end of September. As noted, the loyalty program offers significant opportunities for both the company and its agents, as it allows the utilization of data on customer activity, while also contributing to the creation of additional revenue.

In addition, the CEO of OPAP presented to analysts the new mobile application that the company develops for its agencies (OPAP Store App), with the aim of overall digitization of the customer experience of its branch network. Through the new application, customers will be able to play their favorite games and collect their winnings digitally, without having to visit the cashier of the agencies. The application is in the pilot operation stage and its distribution to the entire OPAP branch network is expected in the near future.

Ongoing development for online activities

During the presentation, the management of OPAP noted that online activities continue to be a lever for growth for the group, thanks to the clear contribution of Stoiximan. In the third quarter of 2021, the GGR of online activities totaled almost 100 million euros, with all categories of online games showing growth. In addition, the active online customer base has reached record levels, both for OPAP and Stoiximan’s online activities.