Lottery operator hits €7.4m profit as sales decline

The new operator of the National Lottery made an operating profit of €7.4m against the background of declining sales.

Accounts by Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI) Ltd for its first full year of operating the lottery show sales fell 2.5% to €670.4m.

However, the new accounts also show a pre-tax loss of €20.1m in 2015 due to €27.5m in finance expenses. In late 2014, PLI had paid €405m to operate the licence for 20 years.