SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Betfair plc posted its opening Q1 2015 financial performance for the three month period ending 31 July 2014.
The London listed operator posted a strong opening which saw net gaming revenues up 30% to £117.3 million (Q1 2014: £90.4 million). Its sports betting division posted a 30% net revenue increase to £83 million (Q1 2014 £64 million), igaming divisions further supported performance with a 45% increase in net gaming revenues of £19.8 million (Q1 2014 £13.7 million)
Betfair pointed to a strong 2014 World Cup performance as the key driver for its gains during the period, which saw customers wager over £22 million in bets (2010 World Cup: £18 million). However the operator points out that excluding World Cup revenues would have been 12% up on 2014 figures.
Betfairs’ shift in focus to sustainable markets (UK, Ireland, USA, Italy, Denmark and Malta) saw a market increase of 34% to £93.7m (Q1 2014- £69.9 million). The results represents a 24% compared with the same period two years ago, which according to Betfair are a more comparable period as it included a major international football tournament (Euro 2012).
Company EBITDA was up 39% to £34.5 million (Q1 FY14: £24.9 million) as a result of revenue growth, partly offset by increased marketing spend during the World Cup and continued investment in New Jersey and Italy. The EBITDA margin was 29.4% (Q1 FY14: 27.5%).
Commenting on Company performance Betfair CEO Breon Corcoran issued the following statement
“The introduction of the Sportsbook means we can now offer superior value to customers who prefer promotion-led offers as well as those who simply want the best odds offered by the Exchange”.
“The World Cup offered a unique opportunity to acquire new customers and increase engagement with existing customers. As a result, we saw record new customer activations and a 65% increase in the number of active customers in sustainable markets”
“Throughout the quarter, we have continued to see the benefits of integrating our Exchange and Sportsbook platforms. One third of Sportsbook customers received a Price Rush and, on average, benefited from a 24% increase in odds”
“Betfair is focused on a number of challenges, including our early stage investments in New Jersey online casino and Italy, and uncertainty remains in a number of unregulated markets. However, we are encouraged by the performance in the first quarter and the momentum of the business, and accordingly remain confident that we can deliver our expectations for the full year.”
Performance Overview
