Big casino player Cirsa faces a profit drop that no one expected

The Barcelona-based casino and betting group said Q2 net profit fell 11 percent as an “unusually adverse” foreign-exchange swing outweighed strong online growth. Management kept its full-year outlook weeks after its Madrid debut.

Carter Emily
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Carter Emily - Senior Financial Editor
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Cirsa reported a sharper-than-anticipated setback in the June quarter, with net profit down 11% to €9.7 million from €10.9 million a year earlier.

The company said results were dented by a €16 million foreign-exchange loss that masked solid underlying trading, particularly online.

Even so, Cirsa reaffirmed guidance for a 6 to 7 percent increase in core profit this year, signaling management sees the currency hit as transitory.

Operatively, Cirsa told investors that quarterly profit declined due to an FX loss while it maintained its full-year target.

The update arrived alongside a scheduled results release on Sept. 9, the first full earnings checkpoint since the company’s July listing in Madrid, where Blackstone retained a controlling stake.

Online momentum continued to offset softer casino trends.

Cirsa said online betting revenues rose 64% year over year, aided by product expansion and prior acquisitions, while bricks-and-mortar casinos faced currency and local-market headwinds in parts of Latin America.

The mix echoes the company’s push to diversify across Spain, Portugal, Italy, Morocco, and Latin America following a run of bolt-on deals and property upgrades.

IPO context and outlook

Cirsa floated in early July at a valuation near €2.5 billion, marking one of Spain’s notable listings this year and giving the operator public-market access after years under private ownership.

With leverage and capital plans in focus post-IPO, investors will watch whether FX volatility fades and whether online gains can sustain margins into the second half as tourism seasonality eases.

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I am Emily Carter, a finance journalist based in Toronto. I began my career in corporate finance in Alberta, building models and tracking Canadian markets. I moved east when I realized I cared more about explaining what the numbers mean than producing them. Toronto put me closer to Bay Street and to the people who feel those market moves. I write about investing, stocks, market moves, company earnings, personal finance, crypto, and any topic that helps readers make sense of money.

Alberta is still home in my voice and my work. I sketch portraits in the evenings and read a steady stream of fiction, which keeps me focused on people and detail. Those habits help me translate complex data into clear stories. I aim for reporting that is curious, accurate, and useful, the kind you can read at a kitchen table and use the next day.