Online stakes boost Gala Coral numbers
Coral Interactive amounts staked rises 45% - online arm approaching £400m in amounts staked.
A strong performance from the Coral Interactive brand has helped the group’s interactive operations record increases in gross profit, gross win and amounts staked, the operator has revealed in its results for the 12 weeks ended 7 April.
The interactive division recorded £395.4m in total amounts staked, with Coral Interactive’s £182.9m contribution representing a 45% year-on-year increase. Gala Interactive was relatively flat in comparison, rising less than one percentage point.
Remote and interactive gross win rose 8% for the quarter to £19.3m while the £17.1m gross profit represented a 4% increase on the corresponding period in 2011.
The 2011 comparatives also include the Eurobet.com brand, which was discontinued last September after contributing stakes of £23m and gross win of £600,000 in Q2 2011. However, last July saw the operator sign a landmark 10-year supply deal with Playtech, with the recent online casino relaunch and the movement of Gala’s poker offering to Playtech’s iPoker network both completed after the end of the second quarter.
Chief executive Carl Leaver (pictured) said the launch of the new galacasino.com website had yielded “Positive early results,” adding that the recent conditional agreement to sell the bulk of its land-based casino estate to Rank Group was “A deal that will deliver excellent value for our shareholders and debt investors.”
Overall group turnover rose 3% to £284.4m, with 5.5% of the total stemming from the group’s online operations, with both that figure and the Q2 statutory gross profit of £220.6m down on the first quarter despite being up year-on-year.