(recasts lede, further detail throughout)
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Betfair, the online betting exchange, reported a 30 pct increase in like-for-like sales growth in the year to end April, boosted by last year's World Cup, the introduction of an online casino, and the relaunch of Betfair Poker.
Adjusted for one-off investments of 12 mln stg, the company reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation of 48 mln stg, up from 40 mln stg the previous year. That incorporated a margin of 26 pct, compared with 28 pct the year before.
The company said it is confident of achieving its target of lifting margins above 30 pct in 2009.
Betfair increased its number of active users by 57 pct during the year to 433,000 boosted by improved marketing. Its total number of registered customers is now in excess of 1 million.
The company's technology platform now processes up to 5 million transactions every day - more than all of Europe's stock markets combined.
Most of the growth is coming from customers outside the UK, who contributed 38 pct of total revenues last year, up from 32 pct in 2006.
Betfair will shortly begin trading in Italy, following its successful application for a Sportsbook licence. It now holds licenses in the UK, Italy, Malta, Germany, Austria, and Australia, and said it continues to work with governments worldwide to push for a regulated approach to the further liberalisation of gambling markets.
Betfair's policy of refusing bets from the US meant that revenues were unaffected by the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act a year ago, which caused significant turbulence in the online gaming market.
The company invested 22 mln stg in research and development during the year, up from 12 mln stg the year before.
The investment included the cost of establishing the casino operation, the migration of the poker platform following the acquisition of Pokerchamps in Oct 2005, and the integration of Timeform, the horseracing form guide business bought in Nov 2006.
Betfair said its strong profit and cash generation has left it with 180 mln stg in corporate funds and no debt.
matthew.scuffham@thomson.com msc COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
© 2007 AFX News
