The Swedish former horse racing monopoly, Aktiebolaget Trav och Galopp (ATG), reported net gaming income of SEK 1.19 billion (approximately £92 million, €104.9 million, or $115.3 million) in the initial three months of 2023.
This signifies a decrease of 5.9% in comparison to the equivalent period in 2022.
Overall earnings for the quarter reached SEK 1.37 billion, marking a 6.1% decline. This includes SEK 50 million in agency earnings and SEK 129 million in other income.
ATG’s chief executive, Hasse Lord Skarplöth, attributed the first quarter’s performance to a “volatile environment,” citing factors such as the cost of living predicament, inflation, and elevated interest rates. This aligns with Skarplöth’s prior remarks on ATG’s full-year 2022 performance.
Skarplöth highlighted that horse racing and sports wagering both exhibited improvement, but he added that horse racing earnings experienced a downturn.
“Our sports and casino product areas continued to expand by 10% and 20% respectively,” he stated.
“Net gaming revenue for horse racing dropped to SEK 854 million (-12%) compared to the corresponding period last year, but we retained our market share in horse racing betting.”
Initial quarter outcomes.
Equine racing earnings in Sweden make up three-quarters of overall wagering earnings, whereas in Denmark, it’s 23%. In athletic wagering, Sweden’s earnings are 16% compared to Denmark’s 23%, and in casino games, Sweden’s earnings are 9% while Denmark’s are 54%.
Other expenditures were the largest cost this quarter, totaling 613 million Swedish kronor, an increase of 4.4%.
Wagering tax was 244 million Swedish kronor, up 5.8%, and personnel costs rose by 11.2% to 139 million Swedish kronor.
Depreciation and impairment of intangible and tangible fixed assets reached 78 million Swedish kronor, an increase of 4 million Swedish kronor compared to the same period last year, while activated self-employment increased by 19 million Swedish kronor.
This resulted in an operational profit of 317 million Swedish kronor, a decrease of 15.7%.
The outcome from financial terms was 4 million Swedish kronor, bringing the pre-tax profit to 321 million Swedish kronor. After subtracting 13 million Swedish kronor in income tax, the total profit for the quarter was 308 million Swedish kronor, down 16.3%.
Sign up for the iGaming newsletter.
