Restructuring costs of €2.7m contribute to €5.9m operating loss at National Lottery firm

Gordon Deegan

Restructuring costs of €2.7 million contributed to the operator of the National Lottery last year recording an operating loss of €5.9 million.

That is according to the new 2024 accounts for Premier Lotteries Ireland DAC (PLI), which show that revenues from ticket sales increased by 3 per cent from €829.4 million to €855.7 million.

The accounts show that the amount paid out to good causes increased by 5 per cent from €227.9 million to €239.3 million.

The amount paid out in prize money last year increased by 2 per cent rising from €478.8 million to €487.6 million.

The total amount paid out in prize money last year was 56.99 per cent of sales compared to 57.73 per cent of sales in 2023.

In their report, the directors state that “actual prizes won in any year are a function of many variables including sale levels, sales mix, prize structures and the roll sequence pattern of draws”.

Under the terms of the lottery licence, 65 per cent of sales less prizes income is paid to fund good causes.

The operating loss of €5.9 million last year was 23 per cent down on the €7.7 million operating loss for 2023.

Finance costs of €34.7 million in 2023 did not re-occur last year resulting in a pre-tax loss of €5.9 million for 2024 which was down sharply on the pre-tax loss of €42.4 million in 2023.

The directors state that sales of draw based games were €540.1 million compared to €531.5 million in 2023 while sales of scratch cards/interactive instant win games were €315.6 million compared to €297.9 million in 2023.

The PLI retail network stood at 5,166 active agents at the end of 2024 down 29 on the 5,195 at the end of 2023.

The directors state that sales through the digital online channel were €155 million representing 18 per cent of sales compared to 15.9 per cent of total sales in 2023.

The company’s profits were hit during the year by €4 million in non-trading costs that related to restructuring costs of €2.7 million; a €1.2 million impairment loss of intangible assets and €100,000 loss on the disposal of tangible assets.

The pre-tax loss last year takes account of combined non-cash amortisation and depreciation costs of €34.3 million.

The lottery firm last year paid out a dividend of €20 million and the company was proposing to pay out a dividend of €10 million this year.

On the company’s future developments, the directors state that PLI is focused on growing sales, offering players a wide choice of games and maximising the funds raised for good causes.

They state that this will be achieved through ongoing game development and a particular focus on growth via the digital channel.

Numbers employed by PLI last year decreased from 206 to 180 as staff costs increased from €18.7 million to €19.8 million.

Directors’ pay last year totalled €900,000. At the end of December last, the firm had accumulated profits of €167.9 million. Shareholder funds totalled €252 million while cash funds declined from €71.1 million to €58.9 million.

In July 2023, it was announced that PLI was sold to French gaming company and lottery operator La Française des Jeux (FDJ) in a deal worth €350 million.

PLI, which holds the rights to the lotto until 2034, was majority owned (80 per cent) Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) with An Post retaining a 20 per cent stake in the business since 2014.