Coral.co.uk helps Gala Coral online profits soar 12%
Operator's digital business posts a profit of £23.9m in H1, despite taking a £7.5m UK tax hit
Gala Coral’s online arm this morning reported a H1 FY2015 profit of £23.9m after a double-digit rise in net revenues in both sports betting and bingo helped offset the impact of regulatory changes and adverse sporting results.
EBITDA for the 28 weeks ended 11 April increased 12% year-on-year, although the firm said profits were up 72% year-on-year when adjusting for the UK Point of Consumption tax which cost the business £7.5m.
Profits were boosted by strong revenues from the company’s Coral.co.uk business which increased to £54.9m, up from £43.4m last year, as gross win soared 66% year-on-year to £72.2m.
Actives in the firm’s core online brand were 624,300, an increase of 44% year-on-year, while mobile sports and gaming stakes increased 141% and 107% respectively following the roll-out of new product features.
“Growth in Coral.co.uk has been driven by a combination of new multichannel actives and an improved and extended product offering,” Carl Leaver, Gala Coral Group CEO, said.
“These are pleasing metrics, and we are confident that we can maintain this momentum as we continue to drive operational excellence,” he added.
The company recently launched an Apple Watch sportsbook app for its Coral brand in partnership with Playtech which followed improvements made to mobile download times and the integration of its cash-out-my-bet feature.
The firm’s Gala brands also performed strongly with revenues increasing 28% year-on-year to £48.8m, with net revenue from its Gala Bingo brand increasing 30% year-on-year to £40.9m and Gala Casino 9% year-on-year to £7.2m.
Italy-facing Eurobet.it also posted a small rise in net revenues but was impacted by poor football results which resulted in a relatively sharp drop in gross win margins from 14.2% to 10.1%.
According to reports in March, Gala Coral is planning to launch an initial public offering (IPO) later this year subject to market conditions after the UK General Election which took place on 7 May. However, the firm said today there “continues to be some regulatory uncertainty” following the outcome.