Mobile drives Unibet to 28% Q3 revenue growth
Swedish-listed operator sees revenue increase to £56.1m during third quarter with mobile accounting for 23% of total revenue
Unibet has posted a record a 28% quarterly year-on-year rise in gross winnings revenue (GWR) following a strong performance in mobile during the three months ended 31 September.
The Swedish-listed operator enjoyed another positive quarter with GWR rising to £56.1m, up from £43.8m during the same period last year, with mobile accounting for 23% of GWR, up from 8% in Q3 2012.
CEO Henrik Tjärnström described the growth for the company as organic and as a result of gaining an increase in market share.
“[The rise in GWR} was achieved despite the excellent summer weather in many of our key markets and high numbers of favourites winning,” he said. “The growth was wholly organic and demonstrates continued increases in market share.”
In August, the operator set out its stall to achieve a top five position in the UK sports betting market and Q3 saw it record a 30% year-on-year rise in GWR for the Western European market to £8.6m.
Third quarter profit after tax amounted to £8.2m, up from £3.4m in Q3 2012, and EBITDA grew from £8.6m in 2012 to £14.1m which Tjärnström said was positive despite increasing investment costs.
“Underlying EBITDA for the third quarter increased in line with the growth in revenues, demonstrating improved scalability despite the significant investments Unibet has made in information mining, local regulation and in Kambi,” he said.
The results follow a number of staff changes at Unibet during the last quarter which saw the departure of its head of poker Steve Cutler who was replaced by former Ladbrokes employee Martin Stalros.
Unibet also recently announced it had appointed Robert Smith to the newly created position of head of new channels who will oversee the company’s mobile, tablet and television divisions.
The quarter also saw Unibet revamp its desktop website to bring the design in line with its mobile and tablet products.