Unibet Quarterly Profits Double
Published: Friday, August 26, 2005 Online-Casinos.com
UNIBET QUARTERLY PROFITS DOUBLE
Strongest month yet for poker, and a major takeover
Scandinavian sportsbook operator Unibet posted much-improved quarterly earnings this week, with profits doubling thanks in part to strong growth in its poker room.
The company reported a post-tax profit of GBP 2.8 million, a jump of 100 percent on the same period last year and a rise of 12 percent on the previous month.
A bad run of football results in the first quarter saw Unibet's profits fall and its sport-betting margin fall to 4.2 percent.
However, the firm recovered in the second quarter with a gross win in its sports-betting wing of GBP 4.5 million at a margin of 8.2 percent.
Total gross win for the three months ending June 2005 was GBP 9.2 million, with gaming continuing to be a strong source of revenue.
Unibet owns a 50 percent stake in poker operator B2B poker and revealed that June was its strongest yet month for poker.
B2B's televised tournament, Pokermiljonen was broadcast in Sweden during April and the company added 24,000 new poker customers during the quarter.
Online casino gaming was another strong revenue generator for the company, with its online casino reporting an average of 2,000 customers a day.
The company is currently planning to expand its influence in Spain, CEO Peter Nylander says.
Unibet followed the announcement of its successfl quarter with the news that has bought Malta-based sportsbook MrBookmaker for US$ 136.3 million.
MrBookmaker is a significant player in the growing French gambling sector, which was recently named as the most active online gambling country in Europe by Nielsen//NetRatings.
The firm, owned by management and Belgian venture capital funds, posted a 2004 turnover of US$59.2 million, with gross winnings of US$10.7 million and an operating profit of US$5 million. The company has also experienced strong growth in the first half of 2005 with turnover up at US$51.1 million, a gross win of US$11.2 million and an operating profit of US$5.8 million at the half way mark.
32,000 active sports-betting customers will join Unibet's database as a reslt of the takeover. MrBookmaker also offers casino gaming, using the same NetEtertainment software as Unibet, but has yet to launch a poker room.
The deal agreement specifies an upfront payment of US$40 million in cash, US$40 million in loan notes and 2.4 million shares in Unibet.
The present management at MrBookmaker's will take up senior positions in Unibet.
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