Bet365 profits surge 81% to £320m
Annual profits outpace Rational Group as revenues increase 38% with mobile turnover more than doubling in the period
Bet365’s annual operating profits skyrocketed by 81% during its latest financial year as growth in mobile and in-play helped push the figure to more than £320m for the 12 months ended March 2014.
According to figures seen by eGaming Review, the firm posted revenues of £1.28bn for the year ended 31 March 2014, an increase of 38% on the previous year as all verticals displayed strong growth.
Sportsbook was driven by impressive growth of in-running and mobile betting, the latter more than doubling in terms of revenues.
Bets made in-play increased by 37% year-on-year, while amounts wagered on mobile devices was up 107% and mobile revenues increased by 103%.
Active sportsbook customers increased by 39% to 2.9m in the period, 1.7 million of which were new depositors.
In gaming, overall revenue for the period grew by 17% driven by strong casino and games performance, the company said. Bingo net revenue increased by over 8% on the previous period.
Last year’s results were hit by a loss of £30.9m related to its ownership of Stoke City Football Club, however this fell to loss of £4.9m this year despite the annual wage bill rising slightly to £60.4m.
Meanwhile dividends paid to bet365 directors amounted to more than £85m, up from around £14m last year, with Denise Coates awarded a payment of £47.7m.
The operator also donated £105m to the bet365 foundation, of which co-CEOs Denise (pictured), John and director Peter Coates are trustees.
The Stoke-based operator, which topped eGR’s Power 50 list last year for the fourth time running, increased its headcount by 12% during the period meaning 2,686 staff are employed within its betting and gaming operations.
Bet365 is planning to build a new £30m 150,000 sq ft office block capable of housing up to 2,800 staff. Work on the new site is expected to start in the next few weeks, with the company taking up residence by early 2016.