CIRSA delivered one of its strongest quarterly performances in recent years during Q1 2026, which was supported by retail dominance, online expansion and a lowering of financing costs.
Net operating revenues reached a record €623m (£538.9m) during the quarter, increasing 8% year-on-year, or 9.5% excluding foreign exchange effects, from €576.7m.
EBITDA rose to €193.9m (Q1 2025: €178.8m), representing growth of 8.5% on a reported basis and 10.8% excluding currency impacts, while margins remained stable at 31.1%.
The results marked the Blackstone-backed company’s 71st consecutive quarter of EBITDA growth, excluding the COVID period.
Net profit surged to €44.6m (Q1 2025: €28.1m), and adjusted net profit increased by 32.8% to €69.9m.
Unlike prior years where acquisitions contributed heavily to expansion, the vast majority of Q1 growth was organic.
Management said that only acquisitions completed during Q4 2025, primarily a series of bolt-on transactions that strengthened the group’s retail casino and slot operations across Spain, Peru and Morocco, contributed to the YoY comparison.
Retail remains king
The retail segment once again served as the primary earnings engine for the group.
Retail revenues grew 9.3% excluding FX, while EBITDA increased 13.3%. The Spanish slots division was a key driver, where revenues in the unit increased 13.1%, while EBITDA surged 17.8% to €64.3m.
Management attributed the strong performance in Spain to several factors, including the slot replacement programme, new game launches, technology upgrades and improved venue productivity.
CIRSA’s sports betting struggles
CIRSA’s online gaming and betting division delivered some of the strongest operational metrics in the group, although profitability came under pressure due to taxation changes.
Online turnover increased 22.4%, with casino turnover rising 23.9% and sports betting turnover up 19.7%. Revenue increased 9.4%, entirely organically, despite ‘customer-friendly sports betting results’ during February that negatively impacted margins.
However, EBITDA in the online division declined 11.9% YoY to €21.4m. The primary reason, the group said, was Peru’s new online gaming tax regime, which management stated had reduced online EBITDA margin by approximately 539 basis points during the quarter.
Peru regulated online gaming in 2024, with the tax system becoming fully implemented by the second half of 2025.
While this created short-term profitability pressure, CIRSA management reiterated confidence that operational efficiencies, scale advantages and the maturation of newer online markets such as Colombia, Mexico and Panama will gradually help recovery in the jurisdiction.
High-margin retail operations, particularly Spanish slots and casinos, continued generating substantial cash flow that also offset weaker online margins, reducing reliance on the traditionally more volatile sports betting markets.
One of the most important developments during the quarter was the substantial improvement in financial profitability resulting from lower financing costs.
Financial expenses declined by €17.9m YoY, falling from €52.5m to €34.6m. This reduction was driven by refinancing initiatives completed in late 2025, debt reduction achieved during the previous year and lower average borrowing costs following the company’s 2025 IPO and bond management activities.
Management stated that annualised financing savings are expected to exceed €60m, with additional reductions likely following upcoming bond refinancings scheduled for July 2026.
Debt situation improves drastically
CIRSA’s total net financial debt still stood at a mammoth €2.05bn, while gross financial debt was €2.36bn.
However, a significant year-over-year improvement can be seen when compared to Q1 2025 respective comparatives of €2.64bn and €2.92bn.
The company’s leverage ratio also saw a substantial year-over-year drop, falling from 3.7x in Q1 2025 to 2.7x by the end of Q1 2026.
The casino division also performed strongly, accelerating revenue growth relative to 2025.
Revenues increased 8.3%, or 10.7% excluding FX effects, while EBITDA grew 8.2% reported and 11.5% excluding currency impacts.
Growth was broad-based across various countries which CIRSA is active in, including Panama, Colombia, Peru and Morocco.
Mexico also remained resilient despite temporary venue closures in February related to situations out of the hands of the business.
Peru, which seemed to be a key talking point for CIRSA in Q1, was a key emerging market.
The company significantly expanded its physical footprint there, increasing the number of casinos from 19 to 23, slot machines from 2,611 to 3,434, and gaming tables from 37 to 61.
Information points towards management at the IGBM Top-100-listed business being confident in Peru’s long-term gaming market potential despite recent regulatory changes affecting the online segment.
The Italian slots business remained comparatively mature and slower-growing, but still produced positive results in what CIRSA described as a “stagnant retail market”.
Revenues increased 2%, while EBITDA rose 3.6%. CIRSA expanded both slot machines and video lottery terminals (VLTs) in the country.
Spain increased its importance within the group’s earnings mix, accounting for just over 50% of EBITDA during the quarter compared with 48.2% in FY 2025.
Management reiterated full-year 2026 guidance of €2.5bn-€2.56bn in revenues and €800m-€820m in EBITDA, while indicating that performance is currently tracking toward the upper end of those ranges.
A happy anniversary?
Despite the positives, shares in the business have dipped by just under 1% on the news, trading at €12.96 at 12:00pm UK time.
Investors may be concerned about the sports betting side of the business, but CIRSA does have the benefit of the 2026 FIFA World Cup being around the corner – an event that should drive revenue, particularly in its key markets of Spain, Colombia and Peru.
Incidentally, the World Cup will conclude on 19 July – just eight days after CIRSA marks its first anniversary of being listed on the Bolsa Madrid Stock Exchange.
There may also be question marks raised over the aforementioned stagnant Italian market though, as well as CIRSA’s free operating cash flow, which dropped steeply from €85.8m in Q1 2025 to €37.7m in Q1 2026.
However, the business did attribute this to the unwinding of a one-off positive working capital benefit that was recorded in FY2025.
Whether or not investors are filled with confidence, management seems bullish with the firm continuing to reduce its overall debt and furthers its record of 71 straight quarters of EBITDA growth, as Spain’s biggest gambling business heads into a busy period.