IZI Finance plc registers 61% year-on-year EBITDAR growth in H2 2023

IZI Finance plc, the financing and holding company of IZI Group has announced a 26% year-on-year revenue growth, as it published its half-yearly results for the period July – December 2023.

The Group has seen an increase in revenue across all its business operations, most notably the National Lottery.

The results generated EBITDAR of €12.6 million for the 6-month period, an increase of 61% when compared to the same period the previous year.

During the six-month period that ended on 31 December 2023, the Group generated total revenue and other income of €45.5 million (2022: €36.4 million), from the following operations: €30.7 million (2022: €22.4 million), 67.5% (2022: 61.5%) from the National Lottery; €13.3 million (2022: €12.8 million), 29.2% (2022: 35.2%) from the Dragonara Casino; and €1.5 million (2022: €1.2 million), 3.3% (2022: 3.3%) from the interactive gaming business.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, and rent (EBITDAR) for the period amounted to €12.6 million (2022: €7.8 million), 27.7% (2022: 21.4%) of total revenue and other income, derived from the following operations: €9.0 million (2022: €4.8 million), 71.4% (2022: 61.5%) from the National Lottery; €3.2 million (2022: €2.9 million) or 25.4% (2022: 37.2%) from the Dragonara Casino; €0.5 million (2022: €0.3 million) or 4.0% (2022: 3.9%) from the interactive gaming business; and €0.1 million negative contribution (2022: €0.2 million negative contribution), negative 0.8% (2022: negative 2.6%) from non-operating entities.

Depreciation and amortisation of intangible assets, property, plant and equipment and right-of-use of asset amounting to €6.0 million, €2.2 million, and €1.0 million (2022: €6.1 million, €1.5 million and €0.8 million), respectively, or a total of €9.2 million (2022: €8.4 million) or 20% (2022: 23%) of total revenue and other income.

Total finance costs for the period amounted to €2.8 million (2022: €2.2 million) of which €1.3 million (2022: €0.9 million) relates to bank borrowings, €0.7 million (2022: €0.7 million) to bonds in issue and €0.8 million (2022: €0.6 million) to interest related to leasing arrangements, as per the requirements of IFRS 16 accounting standards.

Other charges below EBITDAR include short-term leases amounting to €0.2 million (2022: €0.2 million).

During the six months period, the Group managed to generate a profit of€ 0.2 million (2022: loss of €2.2 million).

Consolidated total assets as at 31 December 2023 amounted to €278.1 million (30 June 2023: €279.0 million), with the Group's total equity at 31 December 2023 standing at €81.5 million (30 June 2023: €81.3 million), representing 29.3% (30 June 2023: 29.1%) of the total assets.

Commenting on the results obtained, the newly appointed Chief Financial Officer of the Group, Chris Fenech, said that the financial results are very encouraging and augur well for the remainder of the fiscal year.

“The positive trajectory of our fiscal performance has garnered increased confidence in the Group’s prospects. Our efforts across the diverse business units have been well received by our customer base enabling us to strengthen our foundation and market position," he said.

"We look forward to the implementation of various other initiatives in the coming months. Our focus continues to be on cost optimisation and efficiency, innovation through the deployment of new technology, customer satisfaction and driving long-term value for all stakeholders."