Greek Organistn Football

Thank you everyone and welcome in our regular results conference call. As presented in our video, all in all we are very satisfied with our robust Q4 performance and the lineup in a challenging year indeed. This allowed us to propose a combined shareholder remuneration of €1.50 per share. Following your positive feedback on our new format the previous time, we again shared with you earlier today the results presentation accompanied with the recorded video, so as we can jump directly now into the Q&A session. So without further ado, let's do it. Geli, over to you. We can start.

Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, we'll begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star followed by one on their telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, then you may press star and two. Please use your handset when asking your question for better quality. Anyone who has a question may press star and one at this time. One moment for the first question, please. The first question is from the line of with your bank equities. Please go ahead.

Hi there. Thank you very much for taking my question. I have three questions, if I may, please. Firstly, just on your guidance, if I remember correctly, this is actually the first time, well, certainly in the last decade, that you provide guidance for profitability. And this comes in a period characterized by opposing forces, if I may say. So on the one hand, we have the reopening impulse. On the other hand, we have the inflationary pressures, which you've also talked about. Just wondering, Well, first of all, what made you proceed with articulating guidance in the first place? And secondly, given that this quite impressive EBITDA growth, which you guide for about 30% year on year, will mainly come from the top line, could you tell us what you expect the main top line force to be? Is it going to be the further ramp up of your online business? Will it be VLTs? exceeding 2019 levels. So that was the first question. Second one would be on the regulatory front. We actually read today on the press about changes to the online gambling framework being proposed by the regulator. I'm mainly referring to the quite substantial increase in the maximum bed size. Just wanted to ask whether this is indeed the case. and also whether VLTs are to be included in this positive regulatory development based on what you know. And last question would be on the arbitration related to the minimum gaming duty payment for Hellenic lotteries. Just wondering where we are in the process and if there's a decision close to being reached. Thank you.

Okay, good afternoon, Pavel Mucha speaking. I will take the first part of your question. Yes, indeed, it's the first time after a long time that we provide you with some guidance. I think we made this decision some time ago, before the Ukrainian conflict and a bit of uncertainty started, because I know It makes for everyone a bit difficult to compare and predict our results going forward, compare them with the 2020-21 performance, trying to judge where is the new normality for our business. So we were trying to come up proactively with giving a bit more light into how we see the performance. and how we see the result, but that should reflect the strategy which we've been putting into place for some years and we believe it can bring strong results. Now obviously the recent macro development is making it quite challenging. Nevertheless, we just felt it's fair to provide really everyone the thinking of the management where we see the results of OPAP given the implementation of our strategy. Now the second part of your question related to what do we see as the main sources of the growth, I'll leave it to Jan to answer. Thank you, thank you, Baba.

Well, we obviously expect that hopefully the COVID measures will soon relieve and we will be able to see a much better or to provide a much better experience across our retail estate and welcome much more customers than before. So overall, we expect the recovery of the business following the COVID crisis in a similar way as we have seen it in the previous periods of reopening. The verticals that are worth highlighting are certainly VLTs, as you have very correctly mentioned. That is a business that we have also mentioned before, a business that we expect to further grow. It certainly has not reached its maturity point, so further growth is expected, and nothing has changed on that expectations on our side. And obviously, big expectations we have from online and its contribution to our business. GGR and going forward. So that in a nutshell is the key areas. Next part, next to your question was also about the max bed size, topic maximum bed size. As far as we know, to our understanding, AGC voted yesterday in favor of the increase of max bed size for online casino to 20 Euro to our understanding now the next step on that procedural wise will be a proposal to Ministry of Finance for their decision. So we are expecting official results on this front and until those are available we can obviously not comment anything beyond what is generally known. What is also known to us is there is no such discussion and topic happening for VLTs in stores. So we don't have any info on the front of retail VLTs to see any changes happening there regarding the max bed size. Sorry, there was one more question, and that was about the Helena Glotry's arbitration. On that front, as the arbitration process is still ongoing, we cannot make any comments or proceed with any kind of speculations. I would like to avoid that. We have filed our positions in accordance with the timetable set by the arbitration tribunal, and since the whole process is ongoing, we will update you accordingly. So no developments on that front for now.

That's clear, thank you. If I could just follow up on the first question, could you just tell us what you've been seeing, you know, the last few weeks since the sort of relaxation, let's say, of some of the measures, what you've been seeing in your retail business, the extent to which the this part of your operations has bounced back to pre-COVID levels, please.

Yes, well, for Q1 performance, you will need to wait a few months to hear the full story, but To give you some flavor, we have seen strengthening of our performance as a result of the slight improvement of the measures mid-February, where, for those who are not familiar, the non-vaccinated people with certification of COVID test were allowed or are still allowed to enter the store. That has helped. That had a noticeable help across all verticals. At the same time, since early March, we are obviously noticing some impacts of the Ukrainian war, energy price increases, etc. something that remains to be seen as to what trends and implications it will have, but I think it would be nice to expect that these macro developments will not have any impact on us. Now, how much these two contradicting effects will, what will be the resolving, prevailing trend, that remains to be seen, and we will be happy to comment on that in our next quarterly call.

That's great. Thank you. And on shareholder remuneration, I will just leave other colleagues to ask about this. In my mind, the message is clear. Many happy returns. So thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you for the questions.

The next question is from the line of with Ambrosia Capital. Please go ahead.

Hello. Many thanks for your time and presentation. On the revenue guidance side, are you able to give us a bit more color on the breakdown? How much, for example, are you thinking that will come from online? That's my first question. And then on the regulatory front, there is also some media news recently on potential tax on winnings, any color on there. And just some relatively technical bits. One on tax payments. There was a bit of a decline. Can you just any color on future tax payments, primarily from a free cash flow perspective? And also, of course, any guidance on capex output would be helpful. Thank you.

Thank you very much for the questions. I will cover the first two. Regarding online, at this moment, I would like to abstain from providing more color or more details as to what exactly will be the share of online on our business. It's certainly substantially growing year over year, but I would like to park it there for now. On your second question, the tax, This is, or whatever possible scenarios about taxation of players' winnings, This is really a question to be addressed to the state and the regulator. They are the competent bodies for such issues. If you refer to the reactions to the possible scenarios in media that you may have seen the same way as we did from onliners or from our agents, I think the strong reaction you have seen is clearly giving an answer as to what is the opinion of these audiences possible scenarios and I think that as much as we can comment for now, we remain patiently awaiting the results and official information from the authorities on this front.

Now your third question about free cash flow and impact of tax payments to free cash flow or capex. Well, I'm not sure where your question was specifically targeted. Obviously, as you are aware, in terms of GGR contribution, we continue to pay cash-wise. Oh, no. Corporate tax.

Not the GGR front, but your actual tax payments, if I'm not mistaken, came down from quarter on a quarter-on-quarter basis. I was just wondering how you expect tax payments to shape up in 2022. and potentially beyond. And same thing for CAPEX, if you could give us any color on where you expect CAPEX to come in, still on a very limited basis, or any other color.

Yeah, well, regular tech payments, there wasn't anything unusual really in Q4. They are aligned with our ongoing what ongoing profit before tax. There was a reduction in corporate tax rate, as you are aware, but it's already for the whole year to 22%. In terms of the CAPEX, we do not have any big substantial projects coming up. It's ongoing normal enhancements of the business, so our CAPEX guidance remains to be between 20 to 25 million for the 2022. I will just mention, it's not CAPEX, but we have the earnouts and remainder of control premium to be paid for Stichemann. So that's coming also this year. It will be around 115 million, but the regular CAPEX is between 20 to 25 million.

Perfect. Thank you.

As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please press star and 1 on your telephone. The next question is from the line of Grazovic Petar with Intercapital AM. Please go ahead.

Hello. It's Petar Grazovic from Intercapital from Croatia. I have three questions. First one, what is the amount wagered in 2021? Can you give me amounts featured in physical stores versus online? And the second question would be, did you add any new capacity in physical stores, and do you plan to do so? And the last question, in your presentation on slide 14, can you interpret me the activity on base in the monthly activities and activity graph?

May I ask you to repeat the second question regarding the retail network? The others were clear.

Okay. The second question was, did you add any new capacity in physical stores, and do you plan to do so?

You mean in terms of number of stores and of sales?

Yes, yes, yes.

Yeah, okay. Thank you. So I will maybe start with this question regarding retail network. We are not really adding more capacities in terms of more point of sales. On the contrary, we are slowly shrinking the network following the preferences of the customers. Most of the stores that you would see closing are simply closing because of lack of interest of customers and customers moving into nearby other stores that were renovated, modernized, etc. As you could see on the relevant slide about the retail network, we are putting a lot of efforts into renovating and modernizing the network and that obviously is then accordingly appreciated by the customers and reflected in the relevant footfall. So it's pretty natural evolution of the network and mostly when we are building new stores it's usually a replacement of one or two old ones in the same locality and as such the total amount of stores is rather declining. If that answers your question, was that the question?

Yes, that was the question, thank you.

So for the rest, I'm handing over to Pavel.

Regarding our revenues, We have recorded total GGR for 2021 of 1.539 billion, which is a 36.2% growth over previous year, where we've recorded 1.130 billion GGR. Most of that growth is coming from online. Online contributed 440 million euro in 2021 compared to 82 in 2020. Most of that is coming from Stichemann Fool consolidation throughout the 2021, whereas in 2020 we've consolidated Stichemann Fool only in December. There was also some small growth in retail, retail GGR from 1.048 billion in 2020 to 1.099 billion in 2021.

Yes, sorry, but the question was about amount wagered in 2021, if you have the number, and also the amount wagered in physical stores versus online.

I think your GGR gives you very good indication. We do not publish the amount wagered or turnover. And it's not so meaningless number. So we published the revenue, which is the GGR. And really, the GGR split between online and retail stores, which I provide, provides you quite good indication also for the wages. Although you have to bear in mind, obviously, online is a big portion. It's casino, where even amounts, wages or turnover is significantly higher. We don't publish these numbers.

Okay. Thank you.

The next question is from the line of with alpha value. Please go ahead.

Yeah. Hello. So, a couple of questions on my end. Firstly, on the margin guidance. So you imply a one percentage point decline versus Q4, which was as close to a normal quarter as any we have had in the past two years. So any particular reason for the cautious, for the expected decline in margin within your guidance? And that's, I'm looking at it at the midpoint when I say that there's a one percentage point decline. Secondly, On retail, while betting and lottery retail revenues seem to be within 10% of pre-COVID levels in Q4, VLTs and instant and passes seem to be trailing by a significantly larger gap. So any reasons in particular for this divergence?

Okay, the reason for small margin erosion is really significant assumed growth of the online. Online is online because it's mainly sports betting and casino. It has obviously lower margin than the total of a portfolio which includes the retail. So that's the principal reason about the margin. And in terms of your question about VLTs, indeed, they have been hit more than the other products. And that is because of the nature of the product, where it requires the players spending significant amount of time inside the store playing on VLTs, whereas the other products could be more transactional, you can have subscriptions, repetitive bets or other ways for players to place the bets. So definitely VLTs by the nature of the product where the player has to spend inside and because of COVID and all the restriction and green pass that had a bit bigger impact for VLTs than the other portfolio.

What I can add here is that we see the activity of players being relatively healthy and people keep coming, yet they are spending less time in the venues, driven also by the general perception of safety and related to COVID. So that's another reason why I was earlier optimistic about the VLT's recovery because the people are there, the customers are there, they still have interest. It's just all these restrictions are putting a burden on us.

Thank you for your question. Yeah, just one on the incident taxes. Is that the same kind of thing applicable to that as well?

Sorry, you mean instant and passive, you say? Instant and passive... It's like pre-COVID. Yeah, it's a slightly different story because VLTs, like we said, it's more about being able to sit at the machine and spend time there. For the lottery, for the scratch products, it's a slightly different story and that's more connected to general presence of the occasional players. in the stores and existence of something called spontaneous purchase. So we see a large of these specific segments of customers who in the past passed by the store and spontaneously bought a scratch. unless they are not appearing in the stores now, because obviously you don't want to go through the hassle showing your green pass and ID and do all that just to buy one scratch. So that's another category that we hopefully will see back in our store in the new day of the full relief from the measures.

Perfect. Thank you.

You're welcome. Thank you.

The next question is from the line of Orsini, Lookout with One Investment. Please go ahead.

Thank you for taking my question. It's on the guidance, which I couldn't see actually. Can you, what do you say about capital remuneration going forward? What is your thinking about it?

Yeah. Basically, what we've communicated in the past remains in place, so we are committed to reward the shareholders with a regular dividend every year, trying to pay out all our net profits for the year fully, coupled with some special capital returns to the shareholders like we do now. So whenever we have a share premium created going forward, which obviously depends on the circumstances like share price and script take-up, we are also committed to distribute that fully to the shareholders going forward. We've communicated the minimum floor of one euro as a minimum floor reward to the shareholders annually.

Okay, thank you very much.

Thank you.

Once again, to register for a question, please press star and 1 on your telephone. The next question is a follow-up question from Mr. Mamisoglu with Monmouth Ambrosia Capital. Please go ahead.

Yes, thanks again. When I look at the retail revenues for Q4 at 384, They were 13% below 2019 Q4. How much of that do you think was due to COVID restrictions? And I'm guessing the rest of it is just impact of online growing. Can you give us any color on that, please?

Yeah, well, I think it was largely thanks to that. I like to believe that our performance would certainly outperform 2019 even on the retail front. But we cannot look at green pass measures in Q4 only. It's the whole situation that Q4 where we are overall now. But, yeah, a simple answer is that that was a massive hit. This Christmas was certainly very different from what we have seen in the previous summer. So not only the decline, but also the trends, typically in the two weeks prior to the second and third week in December, which usually are very strong, were much weaker this year than what we are used to. So it has taken its toll, no doubt.

Once again, to register for a question, please press star and 1 on your telephone. As a final reminder, to register for a question, please press star and 1 on your telephone. Our next question is another follow-up question from Mr. Memisoglu Osman with Ambrosia Capital. Please go ahead.

Just one final thing on the dividends front. Shall we assume, despite the capital return, that you're still planning to make an advance payment, an interim payment, sometime in November?

Thanks. Yes. Assuming normal operation, We communicated that we intend to pay the dividend twice a year, so interim dividend announced with half-year results paid in November. So that's still the plan, assuming normal operation.

Perfect. Thank you and congrats.

Thank you. Thank you.

As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please press star and 1 on your telephone. As a final reminder, to register for a question, please press star and 1 on your telephone. The next question is from the line of . Please go ahead.

Yes, hi, and congrats for the result. Can you please give us an update on the rollout plans for any variations on the games and especially Keen Online, please. And also going forward, given the growth in online and, you know, some potential substitution from, you know, some substitution from physical into online games, as the economy hopefully grows, can you, you know, can you give us any idea how you expect your GGR to grow at what rate versus GDP growth? Thank you.

Good. Let me comment on the keynote or even better, in a broader perspective, the iLottery product. As you know from our discussions in the past, our ambition is certainly to offer more of our exclusive products in online. So at this stage, We are reviewing our plans about which products will be launched and the relevant timing. Final decisions still continue to depend on various factors, including the effects of pandemic technology, regulatory and other factors. Unfortunately, lately also the conflict in Ukraine is something we are keeping in mind. We will share more details on this as we promised to you in due time as soon as we will have clear plans in terms of go-to-markets and more specific ideas, we will be sharing those plans with you. But nothing has changed on our ambition and commitment to keep strengthening our online proposition, which I think is connected with your second question. We continue to following our fast-forward strategy, we put equal importance to both online and retail. So while on the retail side, we are paying a lot of attention to introducing and enhancing our customer experience with digital experiences with the just recently launched new op-up store app that allows completely cashless and paperless customer journeys in the retail. On the online front, we keep evolving and innovating again on the casino front where the nice example and just few days ago a completely new revamped joker.gr site offering much better experiences to our customers confirm these trends and commitments so we pay equal attention to both of those and like we said in retail we have no smaller ambitions in the long term than to defend and keep our revenues and explore even any opportunities for growth And in online, it's no less ambitious than keep strongly growing on the online front and head towards the position on the market in the online world that would be adequate to OPAP brand and its customer base and the commitment we have to our customers to provide entertainment.

Great, thank you. If I can follow up with one more question, please.

Sure.

Actually, two. One is a bit technical. If I look at your other course, IT, telco, utilities, et cetera, as a percent of the GGR, there seems to be clear efficiency gains in the fourth quarter of 2021 versus the fourth quarter of 2019, before the COVID. Is this something you expect to continue having in next year? That's the first question. And the second one, If you can tell us more about your plans and developments in the international business, please. Thank you.

Well, on the first part, Pavel may give some more clear with the numbers, but I can certainly assure you that we pay equal attention to exploring opportunities to grow our revenues as much as we do to be efficient doing so. So very diligent cost efficiency and cost saving agenda is a very important part of our daily life. And some of the results you can notice even yourself in the P&L of the company and its development in time, and that's not going to change. Even with things, or even more now with topics like significant energy increases, that is something that is very high on our radar, not only for the company itself, but also for our, very importantly, for our retail networks.

Yeah, I think you summarized it, Jan, well. At the moment, we are on growth trajectory, so we have to really invest behind the initiatives. So it's not that we would be looking for further cost efficiencies below Q4 2019 or anything like that. So we need to continue to be very cautious with the cost side of things, but we need to invest sufficiently and support all our initiatives and projects.

And any update, please, on your international business, Portugal, Brazil, Germany?

Look, it's a startup business, you know. It's been the result really for 2020 was at the level of close to zero or at break-even. These are startup markets with a lot of uncertainties. So, yes, there is some progress, let's say, in Portugal, in Romania. However, there is ongoing big investment into further international expansion. So the results are so far quite negligible.

Thank you very much.

Once again, to register for a question, please press star and 1 on your telephone. As a final reminder, to register for a question, please press star and 1 on your telephone. Ladies and gentlemen, there are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the conference over to Mr. Gara for any closing comments. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you all very much for your time and patience to be with us. Thank you for your questions. I hope you all are and remain safe, and we will be looking forward to talking to you again soon in May for our Q1 2022 results. Until then, thank you very much. Have a great day. Bye. Bye-bye.

Ladies and gentlemen, the conference is now concluded, and you may disconnect your telephone. Thank you for calling, and have a pleasant evening. you