Aspire Global revenues up 81% in Q1 as B2B business soars
First quarter 2019 revenues up as mid-tier operator partners experience “growth spurt”
Swedish provider Aspire Global has reported an 81% rise in revenues for the first quarter of 2019, with revenues topping €33.2m (£28.6m).
B2B revenues doubled to €19.5m, which Aspire Global CEO Tsachi Maimon attributed to “improved retention services for our partners as well as a number of medium sized partners undergoing a growth spurt.”
Company EBITDA increased by 116.9% to €6.1m from previous Q1 2018 high of €2.8m, with EBITDA in the B2B segment of the business jumping 129% to €4.2m. In both cases, the figures were adjusted to account for a SEK3m regulatory penalty (£239,000) given to the business by the Swedish Gambling Authority for failing to connect to the Spelpaus.se self-exclusion database.
EBITDA margin rose to 18.3% from a previous Q1 2018 high of 15.3%. The number of first-time depositors rose by 72.1% during Q1 2019 to 119,100 players from a previous Q1 2018 total of 69,200.
Maimon said he was happy the company had managed to maintain its growth momentum during the first quarter of 2019, as it was “quite contrary to our seasonal pattern and despite the market head-wind”.
“I am especially pleased to see that we are growing our B2B business, where both revenues and earnings are steadily increasing, constituting a larger share of company total – 59% of the company’s total revenues and 69% of EBITDA for the first quarter,” Maimon added.
Last week Aspire announced a €1.5m financial commitment to launch the Vipps Casino online site in H2 2019 in partnership with mystery gaming company Vipps Holdings limited. It also announced a separate agreement to invest €2m in partnership with NEG Group Limited to re-launch the Digibet brand, with a view to targeting several European markets including Germany.
Aspire has also confirmed it is targeting expansion of its Ukraine office, pledging to double its workforce and recruit additional “tech-talent” in the near future.