Snai revenues fall despite online growth
Growth in Italian operator's online arm fails to halt 4% revenue slide
Italian operator Snai posted a decline in overall revenues for the first half of 2013 despite strong growth from its online business.
H1 revenue stood at 253m, down 4.1% year-on-year, as overall sportsbook wagers fell 8.8% year-on-year to 570.3m. However online sports betting revenues increased by 14% to 75.8m compared to 61.8m last year and contributed 13.3% to overall sportsbook figures.
The improvement in online sports book net revenues was attributed to favourable pay-outs, which fell from 82.4% recorded in the corresponding period last year to 77.2%.
Snai’s online gaming business also performed well as revenues increased to 13.3m from 11.4m recorded in H1 2012. Snai launched new online casino and slots products in the past year, contributing towards the increase in revenues.
Italy’s ailing horse racing industry, in which Snai is the market leader, saw revenues from the sport fall 14.2% year-on-year to 15.5m, compared to 18.9m in the same period of 2012.
Over the course of the period Snai has moved to reduce its debt, which fell from 369.6m at the end of December last year to 346.8m as of 30 June 2013.