Lottomatica CEO urges Italian market to recognise group’s true value as €700m shareholder return unfolds
2026-07-29
Source: SBC News
Lottomatica CEO Guglielmo Angelozzi says Italian investors still underestimate the group's value, even as the company posts record margins and plans to return €700m to shareholders through dividends and buybacks over 2026-2027.
Guglielmo Angelozzi, Chief Executive Officer of Lottomatica, has called on domestic investors to better appreciate the “intrinsic value” of the Borsa Milan-listed gambling group, arguing that the company’s performance places it among Europe’s elite gaming operators rather than merely a local player.
His remarks came as Lottomatica published its H1 2026 interim results, showing group income climbing to €1.2bn (up 5%), while underlying EBITDA rose 10% to €458m. The business also delivered a record operating margin of 39% and closed the half with €385m in operating cash flow. Management confirmed it expects to hit the upper end of its full-year 2026 guidance.
Angelozzi emphasised the consistency Lottomatica has demonstrated since its 2023 IPO and the subsequent 2024 acquisition of SKS365, the owner of Planetwin365. He noted that the company has transformed from a 12% margin business a decade ago into one now operating at 39%, yet the market continues to undervalue the stock.
That confidence is reflected in the group’s capital allocation strategy. Lottomatica reiterated its plan to return €700m to shareholders via dividends and share buybacks across 2026 and 2027. “We are planning to buy back up to €700m this year and next year,” Angelozzi told investors.
On the regulatory front, the CEO downplayed the impact of Italy’s long-delayed reorganisation of land-based gambling concessions, which must be concluded by the end of 2026. He argued that existing concessions will inevitably receive transitional extensions regardless of when new legislation is enacted. “Whether you have an agreement or not, basically nothing changes. The outcome is exactly the same in the next two to three years,” he said.
Rather than seeing uncertainty as a threat, Angelozzi views eventual regulatory clarity as the catalyst for a fresh consolidation cycle favourable to Lottomatica. “The point is not only acquiring market share, but acquiring quality market share at a sustainable cost,” he remarked.