[F I N A N C E
NEWS
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BETFAIR Q1 REVENUE FALLS 13%
EBITDA up following failed CVC takeover bid
Betfair has declared it is on course to meet
full-year expectations despite posting a 13%
YoY decline in revenue for Q1 FY14.
Revenue for the three months ended 31
July fell to £90.4m, down from £103.8m
during the corresponding 2012 period.
The company attributed the dip in its top
line to a lack of a major summer football
tournaments and regulatory issues affecting
business in Greece, Germany, Cyprus and
Spain.
The exchange and sportsbook operator
did, however, see a 16% hike in EBITDA to
£24.9m on the back of cost savings and a
6.8% rise in margin to 27.5%. Meanwhile,
mobile saw a 53% increase in revenues.
“Betfair’s ?rst quarter performance is in
line with our plan and leaves us on track to
meet our expectations for the full year. The
business is continuing to show that it can
compete more aggressively and efficiently
in our key markets,” said Betfair CEO Breon
Corcoran.
Sportsbook saw the volume of bets
placed on risk sports products double in the
period, resulting in an 18% growth in overall
revenue.
The company said early indications for
Q2 were good as revenues in sustainable
markets accelerated to double-digit growth
during August helped by a TV advertising
campaign which the company said re?ected
a renewed focus on regulated markets.
“This is a reassuring update and at this
early stage in the year we expect no change to
consensus forecasts of £87m EBITDA,” said
Panmure Gordon analyst, Simon French.
The news comes after CVC Capital
Partner’s failed bid to buy the company
earlier this year. In May, Betfair turned
down CVC’s 950p a share offer due to the
bidder’s "undeliverable business plan".
BWIN.PARTY STRUGGLES CONTINUE
AS PROFITS FALL 34%
German pressures and delays in technology lead to a poor six months
Bwin.party has posted a 16% decline in H1
revenues and a 34% slump in EBITDA as
the company felt the brunt of regulatory
changes in Germany and delays in
technology developments.
The operator’s revenues for the sixmonth period ended 30 June 2013 fell YoY
to €342.5m from €410m. EBITDA was also
down, falling by roughly a third to €60.7m
from €92.3m.
The company, which recently relaunched
its PartyPoker offering, said the results
were below expectations after its tactical
shift from “volume to value” and despite
introducing €70m of savings in 2013.
However, bwin.party also said its
performance had been affected by the
introduction of a turnover tax in Germany,
14
ISP blocking in Belgium and the closure of
slots in Spain.
Revenues were down across the board
with poker suffering the steepest fall with
turnover down 35% to €62.3m. Sports
betting proved the most resilient in
comparison – it saw a 7% drop to €118.3m.
“The ?rst half was always going to be a
challenge as we set about optimising the
shape and size of our business, with much
greater focus on nationally regulated and
to-be regulated markets,” said Norbert
Teufelberger, CEO of bwin.party.
The company predicts full-year revenue
to fall by between 14% and 17% but stated
the launch of new products, improved
productivity and cost savings would see it
return to growth in 2014.
NEWS
IN BRIEF
888 boosted by 13% poker
and casino growth
888 has posted a 7% YoY
revenue increase in its H1
financial results. The Gibraltarlicensed operator revealed
revenues had risen to $200.1m
while profit after tax soared
205% to $32.1m. The growth is
largely attributed to its casino
and poker verticals, which
both grew by 13% – to $94.1m
and $46.9m respectively.
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