Gala Coral H1 online revenues soar 35%
Favourable sports results and accelerated Coral Connect sign-up see net revenues hit ?166.2m
Gala Coral today reported a 35% year-on-year leap in online net revenues and 64% increase in EBITDA following strong growth across three of its four digital brands and a boost from an increased number of Coral Connect users.
Online net revenues for the 28 weeks ended 9 April stood at ?166.2m, up from ?122.9m the previous year, while EBITDA was up ?14.5m to ?37.1m.
Gala Coral’s flagship Coral.co.uk brand was the standout performer after recording a 58% rise in net revenues to ?86.1m.
The growth in Coral.co.uk was largely driven by a doubling (up 108%) of net revenues in its sportsbook, with the operator benefiting from strong sporting results – stakes were up a more modest, but still strong, 39%.
The cross-sell from sports into Coral’s gaming products also led to a 38% rise in net revenues to ?53.4m from the latter.
Gala Coral CEO, Carl Leaver, highlighted the strength of its omni-channel strategy as a key reason for the strong growth over the six-month period, with multi-channel customers, which are roughly twice the value of online-only customers, now accounting for between 40-50% of Coral.co.uk net revenue.
“Coral Connect, our multi-channel offer, continues to be a key driver of growth,” Leaver said.
“Sign-ups in Q2 have accelerated to around 4,000 per week as a result of more targeted marketing.
“Total sign-ups since launch now stand at 493,000, with 160,000 being delivered in the first half of the financial year, more than in the whole of FY15,” he added.
Gala Coral’s Italy-facing Eurobet brand reported a 38% rise in H1 revenues, a rise the firm said consolidated the firm’s position as the number two online operator in the marketplace behind standout leader bet365.
Meanwhile, net revenues from the Gala websites were up from ?48.8m to ?53m, purely driven by Galabingo.com which posted a 15% year-on-year increase in net revenues to ?47m.
Galacasino.com was the operator’s only underperforming brand as net revenues slumped 17% to ?1.2m, however, the firm said it had reduced marketing spend in order to improve ROI.
The strong numbers were supported by a 35% increase in marketing spend which hit ?43.4m during the period with actives up 26%, 8% and 51% across the Coral.co.uk, Gala and Eurobet brands respectively.