Argentina proved to be a troublesome market throughout the past year, despite being the largest source of income for Codere. The operator generated €407.7 million in revenue in Argentina during 2018, some way ahead of Italy with €336.5 million and Mexico on €328.3 million.
However, Argentina revenue fell 30% year-on-year due to the depreciation of the Argentine Peso against the Euro, but this was partially offset by growth in Spain, where revenue was up 17% to €188.1 million.
On a constant currency basis, Codere said group revenue would have increased 9.3%.
The Spanish and Mexican markets had seen especially positive developments for Codere. In Spain, operating income increased by 17% to €220 million, while adjusted gross profit rose by 5% to €26 million. In the case of Mexico, the adjusted gross profit rose 14% to €106 million for the year as a whole, and in addition the company renewed its main gambling licenses for 15 years in 2018 and opened four new rooms.
Meanwhile, investments amounted to €163 million for the year, an increase of 8%, of which €39 million went to the acquisition of machines in Mexico and Panama. Codere’s installed machine base grew by 1% to 57,130 in 2018, with significant increases of slots in Mexico (12%) and in Spain (9%). The number of gambling halls remained stable at 148 while the number of sports betting venues increased from 325 to 602.
According to Codere CEO Vicente Di Loreto: “Thanks to the improvements introduced at the operational level, we have been able to sustain the adjusted EBITDA level and improve our margins, despite the difficulties faced. This is the result of our transformation program and the new culture we are promoting in the company, which will allow us to strengthen our growth path.”
Source: GMB
