888 H1 revenues surge on strength of sport and casino
Double-digit growth from the verticals help drive revenues up 19% despite a declining poker segment
888 Holdings has reported a 19% year-on-year rise in H1 revenues, driven by strong double-digit growth from the operator’s casino and sports betting divisions.
The London-listed firm recorded total revenues of US$262m (£200m) for the six months ended 30 June 2016, up from $220m (£168m) in the same period last year, with B2C revenues up 21% year-on-year.
The B2C division was boosted by 30% year-on-year revenue increase from online casino, up from $105m (£80m) in H1 2015 to $137m (£105m) this year, following growth in the UK, Spain and Italy.
Meanwhile, 888 today reported sport as a standalone segment for the first time after a successful Euro 2016 tournament helped the operator record a 63% year-on-year rise in revenues from the vertical.
Sports betting generated almost 10% of the firm’s revenue in the period at $25m (£19m).
888poker was the only B2C segment to report a fall in revenue, declining 7% year-on-year to $43m (£33m), despite increasing first time depositors by 3%. Bingo recorded a modest 2% year-on-year revenue rise.
Adjusted EBITDA was up 8% year-on-year to $44m (£34m), despite currency headwinds and an $8.4m increase in gaming duties during the six-month period.
Today’s financial results come after 888 recently ended its interest in William Hill after the UK bookmaking giant rebuffed a number of joint-takeover approaches from 888 and The Rank Group.
However, 888’s CEO Itai Frieberger said today’s figures revealed a business in rude health and well-placed for further growth.
“888’s continued success is built on our first class technology and core expertise in CRM, marketing and analytics,” he said.
“These strengths, along with the fantastic efforts of our highly skilled and dynamic team, mean that the business is in excellent shape to deliver long term sustainable growth.”
Going forward, Frieberger said trading in Q3 had started well with average daily revenue to 27 August around 15% higher than last year.
“With this strong momentum the Board remains confident of delivering against expectations for the full year,” he added.
888 Holdings’ share price was up 4.33% to 223.25p on the London Stock Exchange at the time of writing.