Strength in Nordics boosts Betsson B2C growth
CEO Silfverberg refuses to rule out more acquisitions following success of Betsafe integration.
Betsson has reached record gross profit levels for the B2C sector due to a strong contribution from Scandinavia, the Swedish operator announced in its results for the three months ended 31 December 2011.
Gross profit levels rose 96% year-on-year to SEK300.7m (£28.6m), with organic growth of 24% when the contribution of newly-acquired Scandinavian-facing bookmaker Betsafe is stripped out.
Betsafe, acquired by Betsson in June in a deal worth up to 60m, has been described as a “good fit” by CEO Magnus Silfverberg (pictured), who confirmed that the integration process was “going well”.
In an analyst presentation in Stockholm this morning, Silfverberg said: “If we find companies similar to Betsafe in size and performance we are definitely interested in considering further acquisitions.
“There has been a bit of a change in the [egaming] market now that a wave of legal regulation is coming over Europe “ barriers to entry and operation are increasing so more smaller companies will have a tougher time managing by themselves and may want to be acquired,” added the CEO, who took over from previous incumbent Pontus Lindwall last July.
Group revenue from the quarter came in at SEK515.2m, a year-on-year increase of 6.4%, while group operating income rose 34.9% to SEK172.3m. For the full financial year, group revenue rose 8.32% to SEK1.74bn, while the gross profit figure of SEK1.43bn amounted to a year-on-year increase of 11.4%.
However B2B revenue declined 44% year-on-year a decrease attributed to “The divestment of the Turkish customer base and the weak development of the Turkish Lira.” Betsson sold its Turkish database to partner Realm Entertainment after signing a B2B deal with the Malta-based company in March 2011.
Meanwhile, following its launch in Denmark at the start of January, Betsson is looking to go live in Italy in H1 2012 after obtaining a licence last month.