2025 outlook affected by taxes on betting and gaming
BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT, France, March 06, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:
FDJ UNITED (Paris:FDJ), a leader in betting and gaming in Europe, announces its 2024 results. The Group is also indicating its 2025 outlook, taking into account the impact of tax increases on betting and gaming, particularly in France, and the multi-year action plan put in place to offset this.
Stéphane Pallez, Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of FDJ UNITED, said: "FDJ UNITED achieved a very strong performance in 2024. Following the integration of Premier Lotteries Ireland and ZEturf in 2023, the acquisition of Kindred opens a new chapter, more international and more diversified, in the long history of our Group. With its position as a leader in betting and gaming in Europe, FDJ UNITED has a sturdy base from which to pursue its strategy of creating value for the benefit of all its stakeholders, in keeping with its business model that combines performance and responsibility."
Key figures (in millions of euros)
2024 reported |
2024 pro forma non audited |
2023 reported |
Chg. vs reported |
|
Revenue* |
3,065 |
3,788 |
2,621 |
+16.9% |
Recurring operating profit |
568 |
595 |
532 |
+6.8% |
Net profit |
399 |
351 |
425 |
-6.2% |
Adjusted net profit** |
490 |
537 |
433 |
+13.1% |
Dividend per share (€) |
2.05 |
1.78 |
+15.2% |
|
Recurring EBITDA*** | 792 |
964 |
657 |
+20.6% |
Recurring EBITDA-to-revenue margin |
25.8% |
25.5% |
25.1% |
* Revenue: net gaming revenue and revenue from other activities
** Adjusted net profit: To reflect the Group's actual business performance and enable this to be monitored and compared with its competitors, FDJ UNITED has established a new indicator with effect from the publication of the 2024 half-yearly financial statements.
The Group has decided to restate consolidated net profit:
*** Recurring EBITDA: recurring operating profit adjusted for depreciation and amortisation expense
2024 highlights
Successful tender offer for Kindred
The acquisition of the Kindred group was a key step in building a leader in betting and gaming in Europe.
This transaction offers FDJ UNITED new growth opportunities, thanks to the expansion of its online betting and gaming offering and its presence in the main European markets.
The tender offer for Kindred, launched on 20 February 2024 and valuing Kindred's entire share capital at nearly €2.5 billion, was a huge success, with 91.8% of Kindred's capital immediately tendered at the close of the offer on 2 October. Following the extension of the offer to 18 October, La Française des Jeux's stake in Kindred stood at 98.6%. Following this, a squeeze-out procedure was initiated to increase this stake to 100% at the beginning of 2025.
To refinance this acquisition, the Group carried out its inaugural bond issue of €1.5 billion in November 2024, with a long-term credit rating of Baa1 from Moody's. This transaction was a success, with strong demand from investors, illustrating their confidence in FDJ UNITED's strategy and prospects. In addition, a €400 million syndicated loan with top-tier French and international banks, which will be repaid over five years, has also been put in place.
The European Commission concludes that no State aid was provided during the privatisation of FDJ
The European Commission concluded its investigation, opened on 26 July 2021, by determining that there was no State aid to FDJ during its privatisation, and increased the amount of the equalization payment for securing its exclusive rights to lottery and point-of-sale sports betting, for a period of 25 years, from €380 million to €477 million, hence an additional €97 million.
This decision confirms the robustness of the legal framework adopted when the company was privatised, in line with the Council of State's decision of 14 April 2023, which upheld the compliance of the exclusive rights with EU law and deemed their 25-year duration not excessive.
Cancellation of 3% of the capital of La Française des Jeux
Following the Court of Cassation's ruling in favour of La Française des Jeux in its dispute with Soficoma, the company cancelled 3% of its capital, or 5,730,000 shares. The share capital now comprises 185,270,000 shares.
Social and environmental commitment recognised
Extra-financial ratings maintained at the highest level
Rated by several non-financial rating agencies, FDJ UNITED has maintained its ratings at the highest level.
For Moody's Analytics, with a rating of 71/100, the Group retains first place in the ranking of companies in the Hotel, Leisure Goods and Services sector, which consists of 39 international companies and includes betting and gaming players. The Group also ranks 31st out of over 4,500 companies worldwide monitored by Moody's.
FDJ UNITED's ESG initiatives are numerous and focus mainly on:
Responsible gaming
Protecting national heritage and the environment
The continued success of the Mission Patrimoine games, the seventh edition of which raised over €26 million for the Fondation du Patrimoine in 2024, is a strong indication of FDJ UNITED's commitment to protecting French heritage.
FDJ UNITED's commitment to protecting the environment was illustrated by the renewal of two major sponsorship partnerships:
This is also evident in the success of the second Mission Nature game, which raised nearly €7 million for the OFB.
Regarding the fight against climate change, the actions undertaken by FDJ UNITED to reduce its carbon emissions have enabled it to obtain an "A" carbon score on the Vérité40 index for the third year running. In addition, CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) has confirmed the Group's B rating for the second year running.
Lastly, the Loto, Euromillions and My Million draw TV programmes have been awarded the Ecoprod label, which recognises the actions taken to reduce the carbon footprint of these programmes.
Support for French sport
FDJ UNITED has been a fervent supporter of French sport for over 40 years. Last year, the Group supported 32 athletes who qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, winning a total of 25 medals, and contributed to the legacy of Paris 2024 by financing around 50 infrastructures to encourage the practice of sport for all as part of the "Gagner du terrain" initiative.
FDJ UNITED and its Corporate Foundation have also committed €1.2 million to renovating the Jacques Anquetil "La Cipale" velodrome, located in Bois de Vincennes in Paris, as part of their sponsorship of the Fondation du Patrimoine.
Social inclusion
As part of its sixth call for major projects, the Corporate Foundation has selected two projects to be supported over three years at a total of €3 million:
Performance that benefits all stakeholders
For the ninth consecutive year, the Economic Information and Forecasting Office (Bureau d'information et de prévision économique or BDO-Bipe) assessed the Group's economic and social contribution in France:
The company's economic impact is significant, particularly on:
- Local retail, with €994 million in remuneration paid to its nearly 29,000 retailers;
- French suppliers, with €566 million in purchases, mainly from SMEs and mid-caps, i.e. 84% of total purchases.
2024 activity and results
The presentation of FDJ UNITED's income statement reflects the integration of Kindred and is evolving towards a simplified structure suited to sectoral comparison.
The Group has made a number of reclassifications, leading in particular to the creation of new lines in its income statement, such as "IT services" and "Personnel expenses", and the consolidation of certain expenses under "General and administrative costs".
While these reclassifications have an impact on the business units' recurring EBITDA, following the reallocation of around 50% of the holding company's expenses to them, they do not have any impact on recurring operating profit.
Revenue of €3,065 million, up +16.9% and +9.5% on a like-for-like basis, excluding Kindred
With the integration of Kindred from 11 October, FDJ UNITED recorded gross gaming revenue (GGR = stakes – player winnings) of €7,647.0 million (+14.0%).
After €4,740.9 million in public levies (+11.9%), net gaming revenue (NGR = GGR – public levies on games) came to €2,906.1 million (+17.1%). NGR is the Group's remuneration on gaming activities.
After taking into account revenue from other activities totalling €159.0 million, the Group's revenue amounted to €3,065.1 million, up +16.9%. Excluding Kindred, the increase was +9.5%, and +6.4% for gaming activities alone in France, a performance driven by all activities.
Recurring EBITDA of €792 million, up +21%, generating a margin of 25.8%
The strong year-end performance, combined in particular with favourable sporting results for the operator and continued strong digital momentum over the year as a whole, boosted recurring EBITDA (i.e. recurring operating profit adjusted for depreciation and amortisation) to €792.3 million, up 20.6%, hence a margin of 25.8%, compared with 25.1% in 2023.
The Group's recurring operating profit was thus €567.7 million, up +6.8%. Net depreciation came to €224.5 million, compared with €125.1 million in 2023. The increase is mainly due to the amortisation of intangible and tangible assets recognised or revalued during the purchase price allocation (PPA) of business combinations, as well as the catch-up amortisation related to the additional equalization payment in 2024.
After taking into account non-recurring operating profit and expenses of €39.2 million, the increase in which compared with €10.6 million in 2023 is mainly attributable to costs relating to external growth transactions, the Group's operating profit comes to €528.6 million, up +1.4% compared with 2023.
Pro forma revenue and recurring EBITDA for 20244
FDJ UNITED calculated its pro forma revenue and recurring EBITDA as if the Kindred acquisition had occurred on 1 January 2024 and on the basis of the scope of business actually retained by the Group5.
On 31 October 2024, Kindred, in accordance with the commitment made by FDJ UNITED when the acquisition was announced, ceased operating in non-locally regulated markets (.com sites).
In 2024, Kindred posted a good performance6, in line with expectations, with revenue of €918 million and recurring EBITDA of €223 million.
For the 2024 financial year, on a pro forma basis, FDJ UNITED's revenue amount to €3,788 million and its recurring EBITDA is €964 million, representing a margin of 25.5%.
Group revenue can be split into:
- France (74%) and international (26%);
- Activities under exclusive rights account (66%) and those in competition (34%);
- Point of sale (65%) and online (35%).
Adjusted net profit up +13.1% to €490.1 million
- For the 2024 financial year alone:
- Depreciation and amortisation of intangible and tangible assets, recognised or revalued when allocating the purchase price of business combinations for €80.7 million;
- And changes in tax resulting from these items for €17.2 million.
for a total of €91.3 million in 2024 (€8.2 million in 2023).
Adjusted net profit came to €490.1 million, up 13.1% versus the €433.3 million posted in 2023.
On a pro forma basis, FDJ UNITED's net profit for 2024 was €350.5 million, and adjusted net profit was €537.1 million.
85% of recurring EBITDA converted into cash
The ratio of recurring EBITDA conversion into cash corresponds to recurring EBITDA effectively transformed into cash after deducting capital expenditures (CAPEX) and the change in working capital requirements (WCR) for the period, expressed as a percentage of recurring EBITDA.
To ensure comparability between financial years, certain components of free cash flow may be restated from time to time in the calculation of this indicator. These restatements mainly cover non-recurring CAPEX in the Group's business cycle, as well as calendar effects impacting the change in the Group's WCR.
Capital expenditure by the Group in 2024 amounted to €149.9 million (€124.7 million in 2023) and breaks down as follows:
The normalised net change in operating working capital (restated for calendar impacts and unclaimed prizes) was an inflow of €32.6 million.
On the basis of recurring EBITDA of €792.3 million, free cash flow7 came to 674.9 million, up from €585.7 million in 2023, giving a conversion ratio of 85% compared with 89% in 2023.
By business
In 2025, the Group will present its activities based on four business units:
- French lottery and retail sports betting
- Online betting and gaming
- International lottery
- Payment & Services
and the holding company.
For future comparability, the Group is presenting its pro forma performance for 2024.
Recurring EBITDA margin is one of the key performance indicators for the operating segments. It is calculated as the difference between revenue and the cost of sales (including retailers' remuneration), marketing expenses, IT services, personnel expenses and the administrative and general costs allocated to them.
Revenue for the French lottery and retail sports betting totalled €2,503 million.
Recurring EBITDA was €886.7 million, representing 35.4% of revenue.
Net revenue from online betting and gaming amounted to €1,029.8 million, broken down between:
During the year, the cost-cutting programme initiated at the end of 2023 was finalised, including the withdrawal from the North American market during the first half. The BU's recurring EBITDA stood at €293.2 million, representing 28.5% of revenue.
International lottery revenue totalled €190.5 million, mainly relating to PLI. The BU's recurring EBITDA stood at €24.9 million, representing 13.1% of revenue.
Payment & Services posted revenue of €64.4 million. The BU's recurring EBITDA was -€0.9 million.
Holding company costs came to €239.5 million, almost half of which were personnel expenses.
In 2024, the Group acquired 98.6% of Kindred's capital. The price paid, including cash, was
€2,162.9 million. The financing put in place for this acquisition is a €1.5 billion bond issue, in three tranches with identical maturities of 6, 9 and 12 years, with a long-term credit rating of Baa1 from Moody's, and a syndicated loan of €400 million repayable over years.
At end-December 2024:
Outlook
In 2025, FDJ UNITED is targeting revenue of around €3.8 billion, with a recurring EBITDA margin of over 24%
FDJ UNITED points out that the taxation of betting and gaming relates to gross gaming revenue (GGR = stakes – player winnings), which is split between public levies and the operator according to the tax rates applicable to each category of games. This taxation reflects different levels of player winnings and varies from one jurisdiction to another. As a result, any increase in tax automatically reduces revenue and, by the same amount, recurring EBITDA.
In 2025, FDJ UNITED is targeting revenue of around €3.8 billion, with a recurring EBITDA margin of over 24%. Compared with the pro forma 2024 figures, the stability of revenue and the level of recurring EBITDA margin are due to:
It should also be noted that the 2025 French Budget includes an exceptional tax on the profits of companies generating more than €1 billion in revenue in France, with an estimated impact of nearly €25 million for FDJ UNITED.
By business unit:
For the French lottery and retail sports betting business unit, given the increase in taxes, business is now expected to grow only slightly.
2025 will see:
Online betting and gaming
For the Online betting and gaming BU, business is now expected to decline slightly. The momentum in sports betting, driven in particular by the new Champions League format launched in August 2024, the new Club World Cup and the Women's EURO in Switzerland in July, is expected to be more than offset by the impact of tax increases in France and the Netherlands, and by the full-year effect of tighter regulation in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. In addition, the high margin recorded by the operator on sports betting in 2024 does not seem to be able to be renewed for the 2025 financial year.
The main developments during the year will concern:
The Online betting and gaming BU will be the main beneficiary, to the tune of over €50 million, of the additional synergies and cost optimization, which will be phased in gradually over the period to 2027, and which have been put in place to fully offset the impact of tax increases and tighter regulation.
Medium-term financial objectives
On several occasions, the Group has reasserted its 2025 financial targets. FDJ UNITED is maintaining these targets for the coming financial years:
- A recurring EBITDA-to-cash conversion rate of over 80%;
- CAPEX of between 4% and 5% of revenue;
- Financial flexibility, with debt leverage ratio (net financial debt-to-recurring EBITDA) below 2x;
The Group is also aiming for a yearly dividend increase, reflecting its performance and medium-term prospects.
Dividend
The Board of Directors of La Française des Jeux met on Wednesday 5 March to approve the Group's 2024 financial statements. At the Shareholders' Meeting on 22 May 2025, the Board will propose a dividend of €2.05 per share, an increase of 15%, representing a payout ratio of 77% of adjusted net profit, in line with Group practice. The dividend will be paid on Tuesday 3 June. The ex-dividend date will be Tuesday 27 May 2025, with a last trading day for the attached dividend on Monday 26 May.
Audit procedures have been carried out on the consolidated financial statements. The certification report will be issued once the specific verifications required by law have been completed.
A financial presentation and the 2024 consolidated accounts, in French and English, are available on the FDJ UNITED website: https: //www.fdjunited.com/publications-et-resultats/
Next financial release
FDJ UNITED will publish its revenue for Q1 2025 on Tuesday 15 April after the market close.
The Group will hold its Shareholders' Meeting on Thursday 22 May 2025.
About FDJ UNITED
FDJ UNITED is one of Europe’s leading betting and gaming operators, with a vast portfolio of iconic brands and a reputation for technological excellence. With over 5,000 employees and a presence in nearly 15 regulated markets, the Group offers a diversified, responsible range of games, both under exclusive rights and open to competition: lottery games in France and Ireland, via an extensive point-of-sale network and online; sports betting at points of sale in France; and online games open to competition (sports and horse-race betting, poker and online casino games, in markets where these activities are authorised). FDJ UNITED has placed responsibility at the heart of its strategy and promotes recreational betting. The Group is listed on the regulated market of Euronext Paris (Compartment A – FDJ.PA) and is part of the SBF 120, Euronext 100, Euronext Vigeo 20, EN EZ ESG L 80, STOXX Europe 600, MSCI Europe and FTSE Euro indices.
For more information, visit www.fdjunited.com
1 Assuming Kindred had been acquired on 1 January 2024 and based on the basis of the scope of business actually retained by FDJ UNITED.
2 Based on the scope of business retained by FDJ UNITED at the end of 2024.
3 Cf note *** page 2..
4 Information prepared based on Kindred's financial statements under IFRS and by harmonising the presentation of revenue with that of FDJ UNITED (i.e. the sum of net gaming profit and profit from other activities). The average EUR/GBP rate used is 0.8466 for 2024.
5 During Q4 2024, Kindred stopped operating .com sites in non-locally regulated markets unless there is a clear opportunity for a local licence. By the end of the first half of 2024, Kindred had completed its exit from the North American market.
6 Based on the scope of business retained by FDJ UNITED at the end of 2024.
7 Free cash flow = cash flow generated by operations after investments related to operations.
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