(Reuters) – Spanish gambling company Cirsa said on Tuesday its second quarter net profit fell 11%, as its casino business was hit by what it called an “unusually adverse” foreign exchange effect.
Cirsa’s quarterly net profit stood at 9.7 million euros ($11.43 million) in the quarter, down from 10.9 million euros a year ago. The company, which operates casinos and betting platforms in Spain, Portugal, Latin America, Italy and Morocco, booked a foreign exchange loss worth 16 million euros in the quarter though it did not attribute it to a specific currency.
Barcelona-based Cirsa though reiterated its full-year guidance, saying it expects its core profit to grow by 6% to 7% compared to last year’s.
Weakness in casinos was partly offset by its online betting business, which grew 64% year-on-year in terms of revenues.
The company, which is controlled by behemoth private equity Blackstone, has in recent years focused on online gambling to follow the changing trends of the gambling industry.
Cirsa was listed in July by Blackstone in an IPO which valued the company at 2.52 billion euros. The fund kept a 78% stake in Cirsa.
($1 = 0.8490 euros)
(Reporting by Javi West Larrañaga, editing by Inti Landauro)
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