Last year's profit at the group, which broke even for the first time in seven years in 2014, is expected to surpass the EUR 2m target, chairman Dimitrij Piciga told the press on Thursday.

Piciga said the group saw an uptick in all segments of operations, especially gaming revenue, which stood at EUR 132m. "The encouraging thing is that revenue growth has persisted this year."

Gaming revenue for the first two months of the year was up by nearly 11% over the same period last year and the number of guests has risen by 4%.

HIT's casinos were visited by 1.4m people last year, a rise of 1%. Hotels generated 165,000 overnight stays, a 4% increase.

The company plans to invest around EUR 13m in upgrades this year, with the bulk of that set aside for modernisation of its casino in Šentilj, on the Austrian border.

After undertaking painful restructuring that saw headcount cut during the crisis, the group has announced fresh hiring. Last year its workforce expanded by 49 to 1,560.