Coral Connect boosts Gala Coral Q3 performance

Gala Coral chief executive Carl Leaver has hailed the importance of the operator’s multi-channel strategy after its online division posted a 51% increase in Q3 profits.

The Group’s online operations, which includes Coral.co.uk, Galabingo.com, Galacasino.com, Eurobet.it and Gala.se, saw total EBITDA in the 12-week period ended 5 July increase from £8.6m to £13m year-on-year.

According to Leaver, the growth came as a result of a number of factors such as a World Cup boost, which added £1.1m in EBITDA to Coral.co.uk, and increased marketing investment, which was up 65% to £11.9m.

Leaver also lauded the impact of the Playtech and Openbet-powered Coral Connect card, which was rolled out earlier this year and enables customers to place bets via one wallet whether online, on mobile or in shop.

The Group reported that more than 110,000 customers had signed up to Coral Connect, with the card improving customer retention numbers and increasing customer spend by two-and-a-half times when compared to regular online customers.

Coral.co.uk actives were up 94% to 381,700 while sports stakes increased 126% to £85.1m with a gross win of £5.5m, 121% ahead of last year. Excluding the impact of the World Cup, sports stakes were up 90% to £60.8m with a gross win of £4.4m, 97% up on the comparable period in 2013.

Gaming stakes at Coral.co.uk were up 86% with a gross win of £8.3m, 111% up on last year, which the company attributed to an improved cross-sell performance during the quarter. Mobile penetration also improved with 66% of active customers using handheld devices ““ up from 47% last year.

Italy-facing sportsbook site Eurobet.it saw sports stakes increase 39% to £7.2m following increased marketing spend with the company reporting the brand to now hold 9.9% share of the market, a 0.2 percentage point improvement on 2013.

Galabingo.com reported an increase of 29% in spend per head with total stakes up 27% to £63.1m as it continued its focus on real-money players.

Galacasino.com actives fell 44% to 21,900, however, like Galabingo.com, this came as it focused on “better quality players” with stakes up 37% to £37.6m and gross win up 31% to £1.2m.

“Growth in the online business continues to be very encouraging, in particular in Coral.co.uk, where customer acquisition offers, together with ‘Coral Connect’ sign ups, helped drive actives 94% ahead of last year,” Leaver said.

“During the quarter Coral Connect, which allows customers to access a single wallet across Retail and Online channels, continued to receive a positive response from customers with signups now over 110,000. Coral.co.uk customers acquired through this channel are spending 2.5 times more than other online customers, demonstrating the importance of a multi-channel offering going forward,” he added.

The Group also reported that online trading for the first six-weeks of Q4 had seen online growth continue with Coral.co.uk gross win 105% ahead of last year.

Overall, Gala Coral Group EBITDA reached £67.2m, up 18% on the £56.9m recorded during the same 12-week period in 2013.