SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Unfavourable currency fluctuations relating to Norwegian Krone (NOK) and Turkish Lira (TRY) exchange rates have impacted Betsson AB core metric performance for its Q1 2016 opening (period ending 31 March).
Updating the market, the Stockholm-listed European sports betting operator detailed that group revenues had been impacted circa SEK 45 million (€5 million) due to unfavourable exchange rates during the period.
Despite its NOK/TRY burdens, Betsson was able to maintain a revenue increase to SEK 1 billion (€100 million) up 18% on corresponding Q1 2015’s SEK 847 million.
Period group operating income amounted to SEK 250 million (€27 million), representing a 5% increase on Q1 2015’s SEK 238 million, the operator detailed that it had seen a 3% decline in its operating margin.
Detailing performance drivers, Betsson reported that active player numbers had reached + 530,000 representing a 45% increase on 2015 corresponding user metrics. Increased active player numbers would result in Betsson assets recording total deposits of SEK 3,516.6 (Q1 2015: 3,173.6) million, an increase of 11 per cent on 2015 performance.
Presenting its results, Betsson governance stated that the company continues its focus on organic growth through marketing and technology alignment of its brands and betting assets
Betsson governance noted that casino brands, CasinoEuro, Eurocasino, Sverigeautomaten and Norgesautomaten were successfully migrated to new technology platform, Techsson, which would benefit corporate performance during the remainder of 2016
Ulrik Bengtsson, Betsson’s President and CEO commented on 2016 opening performance
“Organic growth continues to be strong. This is the eighth consecutive quarter where growth in constant currency has exceeded market growth in our core markets. Betsson’s consumer brands are doing particularly well, with organic growth in constant currency of 21%, and Sportsbook is growing, despite low historical margins, with organic growth of 27% in constant currency. The underlying activity continues to be strong, with a growth of 45% in active customers, which during the quarter was 538,077. The “old” Betsson has now been fully migrated to the shared technical platform, which further strengthens the possibilities for good growth.”
Betsson AB Q1 2016 Performance Overview
