Codere said that second-quarter growth was driven by improving business in Argentina and Italy as well as Spain, alongside reduced overheads.

The company's capital expenditure during the quarter was €16.6m, up 22 percent from the second quarter of 2009 and essentially the same amount as Codere spent in the first quarter of this year.

Nearly 70 percent of that was attributable to maintenance, but Codere has developed its machine portfolio in both Argentina and Mexico over the last year, increasing the number of seats since the second quarter of 2009 by 7.1 percent and 4.4 percent respectively. That investment brings its total seats to about 4800 in Argentina and nearly 22,000 in Mexico.

Codere, listed on the stock exchange in Madrid since 2007, has for three decades been one of the growth stories in Spanish gaming.

Established in 1980 as an AWP operator in Madrid, Codere was running 3000 machines by its second birthday. It soon began geographical expansion, first to the rest of Spain and then to Latin America, and diversified into other related sectors such as bingo, casinos and betting shops.

In 2000 it reinforced its position in the Spanish AWP market with the acquisition of Operibérica, which had 3500 machines, and it has since bought up other small Spanish operators. Codere also entered the Italian AWP market in 2004.

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