The parent company of Betclic Everest, FL Entertainment, observed a rise in its earnings during the initial six months of the year. This surge was propelled by the firm’s endeavors in content creation.
However, the company’s online wagering income actually declined by 3.0%. This is despite the overall revenue growth of 18.6% for the group.
This is the first financial report since FL Entertainment went public in July. FL Entertainment is the new name for the combined entity formed through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, Pegasus Entrepreneurial Acquisition Company Europe.
The merger agreement encompassed all subsidiaries of Betclic Everest, including Bet-at-home, as well as television production company Banijay. Banijay initially merged with Betclic to create FL Entertainment, and then merged with Pegasus.
FL Entertainment has been operating as a unified business since early July. The company is aiming for expansion in multiple domains, including content production and distribution. This was the primary driver of growth in the first half of the year.
FL Entertainment CEO Francois Riahi stated, “The listing of FL Entertainment in July 2022 marked a new phase for our business. We are pleased to be initiating operations as a publicly traded company with such robust momentum.”
We are delighted to be at the forefront of a dynamic and expanding sector in the entertainment industry. We are well-positioned to capitalize on new opportunities and maintain our strong track record of generating profitable growth.
Income for the six-month period ending June 30 (the half-year prior to the completion of the merger) reached €1.8 billion (£1.58 billion/$1.77 billion), an increase from €1.51 billion in the same period of 2021.
Of the total income, €1.4 billion was attributed to content production and distribution, a 27.0% year-on-year increase. FL Entertainment stated that this area of the business experienced a robust COVID-19 recovery. Content production income grew by 25.7% to €1.17 billion, while distribution income also saw a significant increase of 44.4% to €159.6 million.
However, income from the online gambling business decreased by 3.0% year-on-year to €396.6 million. Sports betting income fell by 3.5% to €322.3 million, casino income decreased by 7.0% to €46.5 million, but poker income climbed by 7.1% to €23.2 million, and other income grew by 44.9% to €4.6 million.
Turning to expenses, external spending rose by 20.8% to €861.3 million, while personnel expenses also increased by 17.3% to €628.6 million. This resulted in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of €300.7 million, a 16.0% year-on-year increase.
FL Entertainment highlighted that its long-term incentive plan added an extra €76.6 million in expenses, depreciation and amortization reached €59 million, and financial expenses rose by 107.8% to €159.2 million.
This level of spending meant that pre-tax profit decreased by 71.1% to €9 million.
Following the accounting for €27.8 million in tax charges, FL Entertainment documented a net deficit of €18.2 million, in contrast to €24.2 million during the equivalent timeframe last year.
Nevertheless, FL Entertainment also pointed out that its long-term incentive program and earnings options linked to employment produced €76.6 million in income, as well as €85.6 million in other financial earnings. As a consequence, adjusted net earnings expanded by 7.9% year-over-year to €138.7 million.
“During the initial six months of 2022, FL Entertainment attained double-digit revenue and EBITDA growth due to the robust recovery in content production and amplified distribution income,” stated Riahi.
“Despite a less active sporting schedule in the first half, our sports wagering and online gaming ventures performed effectively and continued to attract new participants.”
“Based on the strong performance of our initial half results, we have reaffirmed our revenue and earnings goals for 2022, as well as our medium-term perspective.”
These objectives encompass €3 billion in content production and distribution income, and €450 million in adjusted EBITDA, while sports wagering and online gaming income is projected to reach €800 million, with adjusted EBITDA of €200 million.