Gala Coral Group Q4 profits crash 34%

Gala Coral Group blamed poor sporting results and a long British summer for an alarming 34% year-on-year drop in EBITDA during Q4 FY13, contributing to a full-year profits dip of 9% for the combined retail and online group.

In a preliminary announcement, the Group released unaudited figures which show Q4 profits were down by more than a third to £39.5m when compared to a Q4 FY12 adjusted figure of £59.7m.

The results didn’t break out interactive revenues, which represented 10.3% of total revenues in Q3, but said a poor end to the year meant full-year group EBITDA fell 9% from FY12’s rebased figure of £271.8 to £246.4.

The Group said it had adjusted its FY12 figures to exclude the impact of the 2012 European Championships and an additional 53rd week’s figures to give greater comparability.

“As has been highlighted by many of our competitors, sporting results in Q4 were particularly unfavourable, which combined with low footfall due to abnormally hot weather, had a significant impact on our bookmaking businesses,” the Group said in a statement.

“Gala Retail was also similarly impacted by lower footfall. However, the start of the new financial year has been much more positive with customer volumes and results returning to normal levels and we have seen encouraging growth in both Interactive businesses,” it added.

The Group is due to release a more detailed set of results alongside an end-of-year presentation on Monday 25 November with group chief executive Carl Leaver (pictured)

The results come as speculation over a potential public listing of the currently private company continue to circulate, despite Coral Interactive director John O’Reilly having told eGaming Review in September that there were no current plans for an IPO.

Last month the Group’s Gala Casino brand launched a brand new desktop and mobile site as part of a major re-launch complimented by a television advertising campaign.