ZEAL Network aims high after 2014 profit fall
Lottery operator, formerly known as Tipp24, records 1.5% drop in EBIT as it eyes 2015 international expansion
ZEAL Network set itself a target of doubling EBIT during the course of this year after as lottery operator announced a small dip in 2014 profits to 19.2m this morning.
The company, which has undergone a period of substantial organisational change, said it hoped to achieve EBIT of between 35m and 45m during the current full-year, despite having failed to build on the 19.5m EBIT figure posted in 2013.
ZEAL had originally targeted 2014 EBIT of 35m but was forced to significantly revise down its forecast in August following consecutive quarter-on-quarter profit slumps.
Despite the drop in profits, the company’s full-year revenues increased 8.3% year-on-year to 140.7m and ZEAL said it would now push on with an international expansion strategy.
Last year the operator took the decision to rename the business from Tipp24 to ZEAL Network to reflect a number of changes the firm made to its “wider strategic focus”, including its B2B services, and also relocated the firm to new headquarters in London.
ZEAL chief executive officer, Dr Hans Cornehl, said he was confident the changes made to the firm would in 2014 would lead to stronger growth in the future.
“We sharpened our strategy, we implemented the necessary organisational and structural changes, we relocated and renamed our company, and we started numerous business initiatives to execute our strategy,” he said.
“We are confident that we have created excellent prerequisites for future sustainable growth, fully supporting our vision to create a better world of lottery,” Cornehl added.
Earlier this year ZEAL appointed Jonas Mattson as the firm’s new chief financial officer, ending a five-month search to fill the role following the departure of Andreas Keil in September.