Unibet revenue rises but profit falls
Unibet saw a rise in gross winnings revenue but a fall in pre-tax profit during the third quarter, it announced today.
Unibet has posted a 3% rise in third-quarter gross winnings revenue to £31m, from £30.1m, for the traditionally weak three-month period to the end of September.
Chief executive Henrik Tjarnstrom said: “With many favourites losing, Unibet’s gross margin has been very favourable during the quarter. This has contributed to a strong overall result in what is usually a seasonally weak quarter.”
Pre-tax profit however fell 19% year-on-year to £4.3m from £3.5m, impacted by foreign exchange losses of £1.5m and also of £1m on the loan to pay off the bond used to purchase Maria Bingo. The operator also said it had since the third quarter repaid 8m of the bank facility ahead of schedule.
Casino activity was almost back at the revenue level from the previous year, when the operator was still active in the French market, revealed Tjarnstrom.
However, the operator remained cautious “about the outlook for the rest of 2010, as communicated in our first quarter report,” referring to its statement it would struggle to exceed the EBIT level for 2009 for FY 2010 due to the loss of active customers in France ahead of its licence applications there.
The operator announced last month that it hoped to be live in the French market again by late 2010 or early 2011 following the award of sports betting, poker and horse racing licences by French regulator ARJEL.