32Red builds on H1 growth with 27% rise in revenues
London-listed operator confident of meeting full-year expectations as new casino players rises 34%
32Red has built on a strong H1 2013 performance with a 27% year-on-year rise in revenues during the first 10 weeks of H2.
Announcing its interim results this morning, the London-listed operator confirmed the 15% rise in H1 revenues first announced in July’s trading update.
H1 revenues stood at £19m, up from £16.5m the previous year with the operator’s flagship casino product contributing £16.9m of its overall income (91%), up 17% on 2012’s figure of £14.5m.
CEO Ed Ware said both revenue and underlying profitability had continued to rise into the second half of the year. “Our strategy remains to invest in marketing to regulated markets with a constant focus on maintaining the best user experience enjoyed by new and existing players alike,” he said.
The Gibraltar-based firm attributed much of the H1 increase to a rise in active casino players, which it reports grew 34% from 31,722 to 42,455, although this did have a knock-on effect on player yield, down 13% to £398.
A good performance in mobile also boosted figures as the company saw revenues derived through the channel rise to 17%, up from 8% in 2012.
The company said it is to ramp up its marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) strategy in the UK and Italy during H2 in an attempt to boost player numbers further still.
This was illustrated by the recently announced two-year sponsorship deal with Italian Serie A football club Bologna, which the operator hopes will improve its fortunes in the country. 32Red has reported slow growth in the region since going live in November 2012 but has been buoyed by incremental month-on-month increases.
“While early trading in the Italian market has been slower than expected, there continues to be month-on-month improvement and with our new Bologna partnership, we remain confident that Italy will develop into an important and lucrative market for 32Red,” said Ware.
The first half year also saw 32Red conclude its litigation with William Hill over the 32Vegas trademark, securing £150,000 in damages plus approximately £1.25m in legal costs with £930,000 having been paid upfront.
The period also saw 32Red end its sponsorship deal with Welsh football club Swansea City, while it agreed new deals with two other clubs, Crawley Town and Newport County.