FDJ Continued Development of the Group on Solid Foundations

• Turnover of 2,621 million euros, up +6.5% and +2.8% on a comparable basis [1]
  • Solid lottery fundamentals, +4.9% excluding Euromillions and Amigo
  • Good momentum in competitive sports betting and online games of +10.9%, supported by a presence in all gaming segments
  • Strong growth in all online games with an increase of +18.8% in net gaming revenue (NPG) [2] , to nearly 13% of the Group’s NPC
  • Integration of Premier Lotteries Ireland and ZEturf in line with expectations
• Current EBITDA of €657 million, up +11.3%, or a margin of 25.1%
  • Excluding non-reproducible end-of-year items, the margin would be 24.3%
• Net profit of €425 million, which benefited from the high level of current EBITDA and the very strong variation in financial income
• Responsible growth with recognized societal commitments
  • Strengthened extensive and recreational gaming model and continued commitments to reduce the share of gross gaming revenue generated by high-risk players
  • Implementation of the partnership with the associative world to support the prevention of underage gambling: €10 million over the period 2023-2027
  • Maintaining extra-financial ratings at the highest level
• Performance for the benefit of all stakeholders
  • 4.3 billion euros contribution to public finances
  • 56,000 jobs sustained or created in France
  • 983 million euros in remuneration paid to retailers
• Significant increase in the dividend ^[3] to 1.78 euros per share , i.e. a payout rate of 80%
• 2024 objectives: increase in turnover from lottery and sports betting activities and competitive online games in France of around +5%. With the contribution of other activities (International, Payment & Services), the growth in the Group’s turnover would be around +8%. Current EBITDA margin of around 24.5%
• On January 22, 2024, FDJ announced that it was launching a takeover bid (OPA) on Kindred to create a European gambling champion.
  • The takeover bid will be opened on February 20, 2024 for a period of nine months. Its implementation will remain subject to obtaining regulatory authorizations.

Boulogne, February 15, 2024 (7:00 a.m.) – La Française des Jeux (FDJ), the leading gambling operator in France, announces its 2023 results and its 2024 outlook.

Stéphane Pallez , Chairman and CEO of the FDJ group, declared: “FDJ achieved solid growth and results this year. In 2023, the Group reached a major milestone in the implementation of its strategy with the finalization of the acquisition of Premier Lotteries Ireland and ZEturf. The Kindred acquisition project, announced at the end of January, would allow the birth of a European champion and significant value creation for the benefit of all stakeholders, while respecting our model combining performance and responsibility.”

Key figures (in millions of euros)

* Turnover: net revenue from games and revenue from other activities

** Current EBITDA: current operating profit restated for depreciation and amortization charges

Highlights of the 2023 financial year

Lottery and sports betting and competitive online games

• Solid lottery fundamentals: turnover of 1,938 million euros, up +1.1% and +4.9% excluding Euromillions and Amigo.
  • Successful promotion of the instant games portfolio , such as the launches and relaunches of Carré Or in January, Club Color in March, As de Cœur in October and Mission Nature in November.
  • Successful launch of EuroDreams in partnership with eight European lotteries

This game, the first draw of which took place on November 6, offers a gain of 20,000 euros monthly for thirty years at rank 1 and 2,000 euros monthly for five years at rank 2.

EuroDreams is a success, particularly online, with this game having the highest digitalization rate of draw games.

• • Low number of high jackpot Euromillions draws (> €75 million)

After a 2022 financial year which recorded a record number of high-jackpot Euromillions draws (43), 2023 was marked by the low number of these draws (23), particularly in the 2nd ^half (8 compared to 27 in 2022), which affected the overall stakes given the strong attractiveness of such jackpots. Nevertheless, stakes on the high jackpots offered in 2023 have reached historically very high levels.

Euromillions being a game with a high conversion rate of stakes into turnover, the latter was therefore particularly affected by the low number of high jackpot draws. The same goes for the performance of the online lottery, this game having a significant digitalization rate.

Net revenue from online lottery games increased by more than +10%, and by more than +17% excluding Euromillions. This performance is mainly attributable to a further increase in the number of players. In fact, more than 5 million players have played an FDJ online lottery game at least once a year.

In terms of responsible gaming, the objective of making less than 2% of the gross revenue from online lottery games with high-risk players was achieved in 2023.

• • New Amigo formula

Amigo, a point-of-sale game with a draw every 5 minutes, was relaunched at the beginning of June 2023 with a revised formula in accordance with the decision of the National Gaming Authority. This revision concerns in particular the reduction in the number of draws (with a suspension for 15 minutes per hour between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m.) and the maximum amount per game taken (8 euros compared to 20 euros). Since its relaunch, Amigo’s activity has stabilized at a level down around -25% compared to the same period of 2022.

• Good dynamic in competitive sports betting and online games, supported by a presence in all verticals of these games

FDJ has historically been present in point-of-sale and online sports betting, in online poker since the end of 2022 and in online horse racing betting since the acquisition of ZEturf at the end of 2023.

Competitive sports betting and online games confirmed their good momentum with turnover up +10.9%, to €518 million, and +8.4% excluding ZEturf.

This performance is based on a still buoyant sports betting market which notably benefited from the dynamics induced by the FIFA World Cup at the end of 2022. For the 3rd ^consecutive year, ParionsSport online gained market share. The increase in turnover is also explained by the first consolidation of ZEturf in the
4th ^quarter and sporting results favorable to the operator, in particular during the Champions League and Ligue 1. In addition, the offer of Poker is a success, with almost 20% of online sports betting players also playing it.

• Strong growth in online games: net gaming product (NPG) up + 18.8% to almost 13% of the total, compared to more than 11% in 2022

The good dynamics of the Group’s online activities, lottery on the one hand and sports betting and competing online games on the other, enabled FDJ to record an increase of +18.8% in its net gaming revenue in online, which represents nearly 13% of the total NPC compared to more than 11% in 2022. Excluding the integration of PLI and ZEturf in the 4th ^quarter  , the annual increase in the NPC of online gaming activities would have been +13 .9%.

Confirmation of the exclusive rights of La Française des Jeux by the Council of State

Seized in December 2019 by an association and several gambling companies, the Council of State ruled, on April 14, 2023, that the exclusive rights of La Française des Jeux are in compliance with European Union law . It also ruled that the twenty-five year duration of its exclusive rights, defined within the framework of the Pacte law, is not excessive.

Concerning the balance of 380 million euros paid to the State in respect of its exclusive rights, the Council of State will rule after the decision of the European Commission on the appropriate nature of this sum, following its investigation into State aid measure launched in July 2021.

External growth operations

• Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI)

On November 3, 2023, FDJ finalized the acquisition of 100% of the capital of Premier Lotteries Ireland, holder of the exclusive rights to operate the Irish National Lottery until 2034, following authorization from the Irish National Lottery Regulator. This operation is part of FDJ’s strategic ambition to become an international B2C operator, which is thus operating, for the first time, a foreign lottery.

PLI’s strategic plan aims to accelerate its growth and increase its profitability by relying on sharing the best practices of the two operators in order to capitalize on FDJ’s experience to drive PLI’s instant games portfolio and energize the base. of players in draw games, and continue to improve the digital experience for Irish players.

• ZEturf

The acquisition of the ZEturf group, operator of online horse racing betting and online sports betting under the ZEbet brand, was finalized on September 29, 2023 following authorization from the Competition Authority.

ZEturf completes FDJ’s online betting offering, which becomes the 4th ^operator in the French competitive sports betting and online gaming market, with a market share of more than 10%.

In order to fully benefit from the merger with ZEturf and the synergies within its competing online activity, the FDJ group will adopt a new organization of this activity, in accordance with the commitments made to the Competition Authority.

Continue:  Download the complete financial report (pdf).

A financial presentation is available on the FDJ group website:

https://www.groupefdj.com/publications-et-resultats

The 2023 consolidated accounts are available, in French and English, on the FDJ group website:

https://www.groupefdj.com/publications-et-resultats

SOURCE: La Française des Jeux (FDJ).