Gambling operator Gala Coral has reported a strong first half of 2015 despite the negative impact of adverse sports results and increased regulatory charges.
The owner of Gala Bingo and Casinos and Coral bookmaker saw total earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) up 10% to £135.4 million (€/$), with that figure actually up 19% adjusting for regulatory impacts and what it describes as “exceptionally poor football margins” in Italy.
The company saw an impressive 12% rise to £23.9 million in Online EBITDA, which rises to a huge 72% jump adjusting for the negative impact of the Point of Consumption (PoC) tax in the UK.
“Growth in Online continued at market leading rates with net revenue 38% ahead of last year,” said Gala Coral group chief executive officer Carl Leaver.
“Growth in Coral.co.uk has been driven by a combination of new multichannel actives and an improved and extended product offering.”
The company said that it had 567,000 first-time depositors in the 28 weeks to April 11, up 28% on the first half of 2014.
Galabingo.com saw net revenue up 30% compared to last year, which the company said was helped by increased mobile play and improved CRM reducing churn rates.
There were mixed results from its Italian subsidiary Eurobet, which saw a 34% rise in customers year on year to 144,300, but overall losses due to adverse sports results.
Online gross win was down 4.1pp and retail was down 6.6pp, while retail EBITDA was down 2.4% to £6.9m.
“In Italy, our multichannel offering has been critical in helping grow Eurobet.it to the No.2 position in the online market,” said Leaver.
“These are pleasing metrics, and we are confident that we can maintain this momentum as we continue to drive operational excellence.”
source : www.igamingbusiness.com
