FDJ Reports Strong First Quarter Growth
La Française des Jeux (FDJ), France’s gaming operator, has kicked off 2024 with good first-quarter financial results, announcing a revenue of €710 million, a 7% increase compared to the previous year.
Growth Across All Segments
FDJ’s gaming revenue in France saw a rise of 3.1% to €645 million. The lottery segment contributed significantly with a revenue of €504 million, marking a 1.4% increase. This growth was notably driven by the success of instant games, including the launch of Ticket d’Or in early January. Although draw games experienced a slight downturn due to the reformatting of Amigo in mid-2023, the overall lottery revenue would have surged past 4% excluding Amigo’s performance.
The sports betting and competitive online gaming sectors also reported strong growth. Revenue in this category reached €141 million, up 9.5%, with a substantial part of this growth, 0.9%, being organic and excluding recent acquisitions like ZEturf. The significant rise in ParionsSport En Ligne revenue, which soared over 25%, was further boosted by the cross-selling benefits from the popularity of online poker.
The online games segment continued to show exceptional dynamism, with revenues jumping more than 30% to €100 million, now accounting for nearly 15% of FDJ’s total gaming revenue. This includes remarkable performances in sports betting and online gaming open to competition, and the highly digitalized EuroDreams in the online lottery segment.
The Kindred Acquisition
On February 20, 2024, FDJ opened a tender offer for Kindred, aiming for a maximum period of 9 months to secure at least 90% of Kindred’s share capital. This acquisition is still under review for necessary regulatory approvals. Significant steps have been taken towards securing this deal, including the recent purchase of 2.4 million Kindred shares previously held by Veralda, increasing FDJ’s direct stake in Kindred.
Stéphane Pallez, Chairwoman and CEO of FDJ, stated, “FDJ has made a good start to the year, in line with its 2024 objectives. All our activities are growing, thanks to our network of over 29,000 retailers and a dynamic online gaming business, which now accounts for 15% of the Group’s gaming revenue. We are also confidently pressing ahead with the Kindred acquisition announced at the end of January.”
