Bet-at-home full-year profits climb 78%
Betclic Everest Group subsidiary records a 26.7m profit in 2014 as revenues soar 25% year-on-year on the back of sportsbook growth
Betclic Everest Group subsidiary Bet-at-home recorded a 78% year-on-year EBITDA increase in 2014 after a strong World Cup performance helped drive double-digit growth in gross gaming revenue (GGR).
EBITDA for the 12 months ended 31 December 2014 lept 78% to 26.7m, while GGR was up 25% year-on-year to 107m.
Sports betting continued to be the highest revenue generating vertical with GGR of 56.2m, just over half of total revenues, while casino contributed GGR of 43.5m, poker 1.1m and other games 6.2m.
The Frankfurt-listed firm said strong growth was the result of a concerted advertising push during last summer’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil which saw the company ramp up its TV advertising and brand awareness with the number of registered customers rising 8% to 3.9 million.
Marketing expenses increased 20% to 41m in 2014, and during the 12-month period Bet-at-home’s headcount rose 10% to 264.
However the operator said it managed to cut-back on operating expenses from other areas of the business.
“By continuing our marketing efficiency started in 2013, it was the first year, where we had a major sporting event and strong bottom line figures,” bet-at-home investor relations manager, Klaus Fahrnberger, told eGaming Review.
“Although we had higher marketing spendings due to the Worldcup, the earnings increased due to lower ‘other operating expenses’ year-on-year and a very lean development of personnel expenses,” he added.
Last year the operator was awarded a licence from the Great Britain Gambling Commission, one month after being named on a list of 20 operators to receive a German online sports betting licence.
Bet-at-home’s share price was down 3.9% to 59.98 on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse) at the time of writing.