Cirsa’s 2025 got off to a strong start. The company posted a 9.1% year-on-year increase in EBITDA for the first quarter. The Cirsa Q1 2025 results also show how fast online is growing, now making up nearly a quarter of the group’s total revenue.
EBITDA landed at €178.8 million for Q1, up from the same period last year. Net revenues also rose 12.5%, with every business unit seeing growth. Online Gaming and Betting led the way, jumping 54.8% compared to Q1 2024.
Online now brings in 22.7% of total net revenues, a big step up from 16.5% last year. This was driven by solid organic growth and the successful addition of Apuesta Total and Casino de Portugal. Cirsa says the channel shift will likely keep building.
The Slots Spain division had a good quarter, growing revenues by 8.3%. Both the slot route business and the B2B arm outperformed. The B2B unit remains firmly in the top spot in Spain thanks to recent product launches.
Slots Italy saw a 5.4% rise in net revenues, despite a tougher market environment. The Royal acquisition helped lift both top-line and EBITDA margins.
Casino revenues were up slightly by 0.6%, even with headwinds in Mexico and Panama tied to recent US policy changes. Cirsa said other Latam markets like Colombia and Peru helped balance the picture.
The shift towards online—where margins are lower—pulled the overall EBITDA margin down to 31.0% from 32.0% a year ago. That said, Slots Spain boosted its own margin to 50.4%, helping soften the impact.
Free operating cash flow hit €85.8 million, more than double the €40.3 million in Q1 2024. Growth was powered by stronger EBITDA, better working capital management, and the absence of last year’s one-off items. There was also a tax recovery of €8.8 million in the mix.
Net debt stood at €2.64 billion at the end of March, or €2.37 billion on a pro forma basis after the shareholder equity boost in May. Cirsa had €567.6 million in total available cash, with its credit line untouched.
Leverage came down slightly from 3.8x at year-end to 3.7x in March. Including the shareholder equity injection, that drops further to 3.3x. The company used proceeds from a €600 million PIK refinancing to pay down €240 million in FRNs and €30 million on the RCF.
Cirsa’s ESG rating improved too—now ranked #2 globally in gaming by Sustainalytics, up from #3. It reiterated its position of operating only in regulated markets and released its latest sustainability report in April.
The company reaffirmed its 2025 targets, including high single-digit net revenue growth and steady EBITDA margins. An IPO is still on the table but depends on market conditions. A Cirsa spokesperson added, “The shareholder equity contribution reflects our strong confidence in the business.”
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