Perform eyes acquisitions as revenues increase by a third
Digital sports media group reveals revenues of £92m in market update ahead of half-year financials
Perform Group is on track to deliver another year of strong growth as it announces revenue growth of more than one third for the first six months of 2013.
The sports data firm, which is believed to be in advanced discussions to acquire London-based business Opta for around £40m, reported a 37% uplift in revenues to around £92m in today’s market update. That compares to £67.3m in the corresponding period last year and the firm has £166m in revenues contracted for FY 2013.
Listed in its highlights for the six-month period was the successful re-brand and re-launch of the Goal product across multiple platforms, which it said has “markedly enhanced” user experience and increased page views per visit. The re-branded Goal iOS app recently reached the top 10 of the free sports category in the Apple App Store in 50 countries, the company said.
Perform joint-chief executive officer Oliver Slipper said continued investment in content has strengthened the business’ geographic presence, and said further acquisitions should be expected.
“We continue to execute against our growth strategy… In H1 we invested in new content and expanded our geographic presence, both organically and through acquisition, in particular in the US and Canada,” he said.
“These investments, together with additional investment in H2, in content, partnerships and further acquisitions will materially strengthen our market position and drive our long-term sustainable growth.”
Today’s update carried no further information on the mooted deal for Opta, with the £40m figure understood to represent the amount sought by Albion Capital, the venture capital firm which holds a stake in the sports data company.
If completed, the deal would allow Perform “ named sports data provider of the year at this year’s eGaming Review B2B Awards “ to enhance its live data offerings.