Hamburg, 10 May 2017 – Lotto24 AG, Lotto24.de, got off to a very encouraging start once again in the new fiscal year 2017: at EUR 58.2 million, billings in the first quarter of 2017 were up 40.5% on the previous year (EUR 41.4 million), while revenues climbed by as much as 50.7% to EUR 6.7 million (prior year: EUR 4.4 million). This positive trend is due in part to the strong early jackpots of the »6aus49« and »EuroJackpot« lotteries. As lotto clubs were only launched in February 2016 and their positive impact on the prior-year quarter was thus correspondingly shorter, the gross margin of 11.4% in the reporting period was also up on the previous year (10.7%).
With 95.1 thousand new customers in the first quarter of 2017 (prior year: 106 thousand new customers), the total number of registered customers grew by 39.2% to 1,377 thousand (prior year: 989 thousand). Thanks to efficient marketing measures – which the company tailors to the prevailing jackpot trend – Lotto24 was able to reduce cost per lead (CPL) from EUR 25.45 in the previous year to EUR 24.07. The strong revenue trend and reduction in marketing expenditure from EUR -2.7 million to EUR -2.3 million played a particularly important role in the improved EBIT result of EUR -0.1 million (prior year: EUR -2.1 million). Due to a technical tax effect, net profit for the period of EUR -1.1 million was slightly down on the previous year (EUR -0.8 million).
In 2017, Lotto24 AG plans to extend its market leadership as an online provider of state-licensed lotteries and to continue its sustainable growth strategy. Despite the favourable start to the year, the company still expects jackpots to be lower than in the previous year and anticipates a significant reduction in marketing expenditure with much lower new customer figures and a higher CPL. Lotto24 also continues to expect an increase in billings of 15% to 20% with a stable gross margin compared to the previous year. Depending on external conditions – especially the jackpot trend – and marketing investments to attract new customers, EBIT is expected to slightly exceed break-even; net profit will be clearly above the break-even point.
