Cirsa Q3 net profit jumps 48% as revenue reaches €628m

Cirsa recorded €627.6m ($707.1m) in third-quarter net operating revenue, up 12% year-on-year, while net profit rose 48.1% to €33.6m.

The Spanish operator's EBITDA reached €195.2m, up 6.8%. Adjusted EBITDA was €203m, an 11.1% increase after excluding €7.9m in non-recurring costs that included advice on its proposed combination with Lottomatica.

For the nine months to 30 September, Cirsa generated €1.89bn in net operating revenue, €591.4m in EBITDA and €128.3m in net profit. The company reaffirmed its expectation that full-year net operating revenue and EBITDA would finish towards the upper end of its previous guidance.

Cirsa's online gambling and betting division generated €143.6m in quarterly net operating revenue, an 18.9% increase as the amount wagered rose 32.5%. EBITDA in that division was nearly unchanged at €23.6m. 

The company cited marketing spending around the football World Cup and sports results favourable to bettors, while online gaming taxes rose by around 38% to €34.7m. 

For the nine-month period, online division EBITDA was down 4.9%. Cirsa attributed that performance partly to the phased increase in Peru's online gaming tax and the customer-friendly sports results in August and September. This limited how directly wagering growth translated into profit.

In land-based operations, casino net operating revenue increased 10.7% to €281.1m, while casino EBITDA rose to €118m. Cirsa estimated that an August earthquake in Colombia reduced the division's quarterly revenue by €3m after several venues closed temporarily.

Its Spanish slot machine division generated €108.4m in net operating revenue, up 6.9%, and EBITDA of €58.1m. The Italian slot division's net operating revenue was broadly flat at €96.2m, showing a different growth pattern across its retail markets.

At 30 September, net debt stood at €2.10bn, with a net debt to trailing EBITDA ratio of 2.66. Cirsa held €366m in cash and said the proposed merger with Lottomatica would go to its shareholders on 30 November. Regulatory clearance is still required for the transaction.

In February, Cirsa's full-year 2025 results showed €2.33bn in operating revenue and a 25.8% rise in online net revenue. The latest quarter extends that online growth, though tax and sports payouts restrained divisional earnings.