Tabcorp’s Sun Bets brand posts £13m EBITDA loss
Debut figures reveal UK brand recorded just shy of £1m in half-year revenues after acquiring 85,000 customers
Sun Bets recorded revenues of AU$1.5m (£0.9m) and an EBITDA loss of $21.3m (£12.9m) for half-year ended 31 December 2016, figures released by owner Tabcorp have revealed.
According to the Australian operator’s H1 2017 report, its UK-facing site recorded $96.8m (£58.7m) in turnover during the period and acquired approximately 85,000 customers.
Sun Bets secured a number of sponsorship deals during the period, including Cheltenham Festival’s Stayers’ Hurdle, and kicked of its first TV advertising campaign to build brand awareness.
It has also recently expanded its product range with the launch of a Playtech-powered casino and live casino, while it plans to obtain access to more than one million customers by integrating with The Sun’s Dream Team fantasy football product in mid-2017.
Tabcorp said it expects its Sun Bets brand, which was launched in August 2016, to record an EBITDA loss of $15m (£9.1m) in 2H17.
Sun Bets is a joint-venture between Tabcorp and media publishing giant News UK, which is responsible for all the brand’s marketing activities.
The Melbourne-headquartered operator today also revealed a 2.1% year-on-year rise in group revenues to $1.6bn, boosted by strong digital growth from the company’s TAB business. Sun Bets revenues were not included.
TAB’s digital turnover during 1H17 increased 13.8% year-on-year following the launch of a new ‘We Love a Bet’ marketing campaign and product improvements, including its Check & Collect omni-channel solution.
“We have continued to invest in a number of initiatives that strengthen our business, improve the customer offer and position us for growth,” Tabcorp CEO, David Attenborough, said.
“Wagering and Media continued to respond to the highly competitive environment and TAB had a record-breaking Spring Racing Carnival.
“We launched key initiatives which support out multi-channel strategy and reward our venue partners, such as a new digital commissions model.”
In October, Tabcorp and Tatts Group announced plans to merge the two companies and create a new Australian AU$11.3bn (£7.1bn) gambling powerhouse.
The deal is expected to complete mid-2017 following Tatts shareholder, regulatory and other approvals.