Key points from Betfair results
Top line numbers
- Revenue up 5%. Underlying earnings growth is difficult to asses because of previous adjustments, so I wont attempt to interpret that.
- Underlying exchange revenue was +1%, but bear in mind there have been a range of price rises so this hints at declining underlying business. The sportsbook has gained £2m in revenue over the past year, the exchange £400k and Betfair US is up £2m, still quite small in the scheme of things but growing much faster.
- Number of actives paints a confusing picture for me. Sustainable markets were 424k vs 336k +26% but other markets was 137k vs 177k. Questions on the impact of Blue Square on these numbers were ducked. Older KPI’s including actives appear on the web site, and show 468k in Q4 FY10 so it’s difficult to read what these figures actually mean. They were 372k in Q3FY12 so have moved forward from there, but without breaking them out its tricky to work out where these new customers are going.
- Spent lots of money on acquiring football coverage on ITV so that should drive some growth there.
- As has previously pointed out on this blog Betfair have linked the sportsbook and exchange.
- Italian exchange still a work in progress at the moment.
Analyst conference call listed below for your interest: –
Category: Betfair
