Sportsbook drives Betsson full year growth

Online gaming company Betsson reported on progress made for the full year 2017, showing a 15 percent revenue growth largely driven by Sportsbook.

Operating income and margins declined due to increased marketing spend, currency fluctuations and and lower-than-expected performance from recent acquisitions.

Key performance indicators for the full year period include:

– Group revenue increased 15 percent to SEK 4 716,5 million (FY2016: SEK 4 117,3 million), with 9 percent organic growth.

– Operating income (EBIT) was SEK 882.2 million (FY2016: 946.4 million).

– Net profit was SEK 786.5 million (FY2016: SEK 878 million, corresponding to SEK 5.68 (FY2016: SEK 6.34) per share.

– Operating cash flow amounted to SEK 946.7 million (FY2016: SEK 1,168.5 million.

The Board of Directors proposes to the AGM that SEK 393.1 million (FY2016: SEK 658.9 million), which corresponds to SEK 2.84 (FY2016: SEK 4.76) per share, is distributed to shareholders.

Betsson’s CEO, Pontus Lindwall, said the company had identified and begun to implement a number of improvements on both the product and marketing fronts.

Betsson expects to launch a new front-end omni-channel system for Casino and Sportsbook during 2018 and will focus marketing spend on the key markets that deliver a higher ROI.

Responsible gambling is again high on Betsson’s agenda.  The company detailed the commission of an independent review in December 2017 which identified potential additional enhancements in their system, development of which will be followed up closely by Betsson AB management and the Board of Directors.

“When I stepped in as CEO in September, my first action was to analyse the situation the company was in and together with management set a plan on how to bring Betsson back to higher growth and earnings,” Lindwall said. “It will take some time until I am satisfied, but we are systematically implementing actions to improve performance and expect to see results towards the end of the year.”

In related news, Betsson has strengthened its Southern European operations with the launch of its flagship casino and sports betting brand in Spain via  Betsson.es

The company entered the Spanish market in March 2017, after acquiring the locally-licensed online gaming operator, Premier Casino.

“We are proud to be entering one of the most exciting and established gaming markets with Betsson.es. It was an opportunity we simply did not want to miss,” Andrea Rossi, Betsson Group’s Managing Director, Southern Europe and LatAm, said.

“With over 55 years in the gaming industry and an award winning team, we want to offer our Spanish customers a fantastic gaming experience with the widest choice of slot games, jackpots, and sports betting.”

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