Impressive performance from Finnish gambling group
News on 18 Aug 2014
News on 18 Aug 2014
Impressive results in H1-2014 at Finnish online and land gambling group Veikkaus have been attributed to innovation and efficiency in most verticals.
The state-owned firm posted a 6.7 percent rise in turnover to Euro 978 million for the half-year, drawing attention to the strong performance of the online and mobile divisions, where turnover was up 20 percent year-on-year to Euro 395.5 million…. around 40 percent of the group’s turnover.
Veikkaus Oy is the Finnish national betting agency, managed by the Finnish Ministry of Education, and holds an exclusive betting license on lotteries and sports betting in Finland.
Net sales increased in all verticals in the second quarter, following a revamp of the products, which enabled the company to offset the economic slowdown and weak consumer demand effects through continuous development, customer orientation and cost efficiency.
CEO Juha Koponen said revisions to products like Long-Lotto, and the launch of the new game Neighbours in May were well received by customers, with sales in the first two months totalling Euro 3.2 million.
Eurojackpot sales grew substantially at 31.8 percent, due to the multi-national popularity of the game which reached a jackpot of Euro 57.3 million in April. Lotto sales were also up 1.3 percent,
Consumer Sports net sales were up 19.6 percent at Euro 362.1 million in the first quarter, helping to boost the half yearly results, but Pot Sports net sales declined 4.1 percent and are currently being reviewed.
Net sales of Keno between January and June 2014 were up 19 percent, contributing Euro 199.3 million.
The retail outlet network was expanded nationwide, helping the company to acquire more players as its customer base grew 6.3 percent to 1.59 million. Players received Euro 557.7 million, up 10.3 percent y-o-y.
Veikkaus management expects the good performance to continue into the second half, ensuring that at the very least the results will match or improve on last year.
