Sportsbook growth drives record Q3 profits at Unibet
France and mobile help push profits up 45% as Western Europe outshines Nordics and sportsbook revenue hits all-time high
Unibet posted record profits for the third quarter as a sharp rise in sports betting revenues, driven by growth in France and mobile, pushed EBITDA up 45% to £21.1m.
Gross revenue rose 26% to £80.4m for the three months ended September 2014 with casino revenues up 15% to £36.8m and sports betting up 59% to £38.1m.
“Despite absorbing a 45% increase in betting duties, Unibet delivered a 54% growth in EBITDA compared with last year which shows the scalability of our business model,” Henrik Tjärnström, Unibet CEO, said.
A run of favourable results, including during the last two weeks of the World Cup, saw a big rise in pre-match margin to 17.7% while an overall margin of 9.2% after free bets contributed to the firm’s record-breaking quarterly sportsbook revenues.
“The growth was wholly organic and demonstrates continued increases in market share,” Tjärnström added.
Sports betting performance was driven by an impressive 120% revenue rise in Western Europe, which now represents around 50% of sportsbook revenue, and a 33% increase in revenues from the Nordics.
Tjärnström said the strong growth in sports betting was due in part to the final stages of the World Cup and “continued strong growth” in France.
Mobile accounted for 55% of gross revenue from sports betting in the period, up from 47% in the previous quarter to represent 38% of total revenues.
Casino growth of 15% was once again due to Unibet’s Western European business, which showed 45% growth in the period compared to a 4% drop in the Nordic region.
The firm said live casino and mobile, in particular Unibet’s recently launched Spin City app, continued to show growth and the casino results came despite two jackpot wins totalling £6.8m being paid out in the period.
Poker however showed 31% decline following its relaunch on a stand-alone platform with revenue of just £2m, but was up 17% sequentially.
Marketing costs rose by 25% to £17.5m as the firm continued its push into new territories including the UK, but at 21% of revenue remained below many of its listed rivals.
The period also included a sharp rise in betting duties, which climbed 50% to £16.6m.
“Unibet’s focus on re-regulated markets demonstrates that it is possible, with sustainable market conditions, to drive efficiency and increased profitability while reducing overall corporate risk,” Tjärnström said.