FDJ United revenue falls 5.6% as group cuts annual outlook
Key Facts
France's FDJ United cut its annual revenue outlook after revenue for the first nine months of 2026 fell 5.6% to 2,576 million euros, according to a company disclosure. Gross gaming revenue for the period totalled 6,264 million euros, down 2.8% year on year. The revenue decline accelerated to 8.1% in the third quarter, with revenue reaching 794 million euros compared with 864 million euros a year earlier. The group said in its investor presentation that it now expects annual revenue to decline by a mid-single-digit percentage. It also forecast a low-single-digit decline in gross gaming revenue for the year.
The new revenue guidance marks a downgrade from July, when the group forecast a low-single-digit annual decline. First-half revenue was 1,782 million euros, compared with 1,867 million euros in the same period of 2025, down 4.5%, according to the company's results published at the time. The third-quarter decline therefore outpaced the decrease recorded in the first half. On profitability, first-half results showed adjusted net profit falling 19% to 180 million euros. Adjusted net profit in the comparable period was 222 million euros, according to the same disclosure.
Revenue from French retail lottery and sports betting fell 4.8% to 1,794 million euros in the first nine months. The group attributed weaker activity to lower retail footfall and fewer jackpot cycles, alongside higher sports bettors' winnings. The investor presentation showed gross gaming revenue from draw games falling 10.3% over the period. By contrast, gross gaming revenue from instant games rose 1.9%, with reported revenue increasing 0.3%. The payout ratio for retail sports betting approached 80% in the third quarter. That was about 400 basis points higher than in the corresponding quarter of 2025, according to the presentation.
Higher gaming taxes added to pressure on group revenue, with tax increases having an impact of 62 million euros in the first nine months, according to the official disclosure. The impact of these increases extends to recurring operating earnings, according to the mechanism the company described in its annual results and outlook disclosure. The group said that "any increase in taxes automatically reduces revenue and, by the same amount, recurring earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, assuming operating costs remain unchanged". This makes unchanged operating costs a condition for the tax impact to flow through by the same amount to this profitability measure. The tax burden during the period coincided with lower retail footfall and higher payouts to bettors.
The revenue decline also extended to online betting and gaming, which recorded an 8.2% drop to 619 million euros in the first nine months, according to the company. The segment's revenue decline was steeper than that recorded in French retail lottery and sports betting. However, the online segment's performance differed when Britain and the Netherlands were excluded from the comparison, according to the group's investor presentation. On that basis, online gross gaming revenue grew 5.7% over the same period. The segment's reported revenue rose 0.8% excluding the two markets, compared with a decline across the online business as a whole.
For annual profitability, the group now targets a recurring earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation margin of about 23%. July guidance put the target margin for the year between 23% and 24%, placing the current target near the bottom of the previous range. Despite lowering its revenue outlook, the group reaffirmed its target of increasing dividends annually. It maintained a payout ratio of at least 75% of adjusted net profit, according to its statement. Results for 2026 are scheduled for release on Thursday, 18 February 2027, before the market opens.