World Cup, increased clients give Unibet Q2 boost

Unibet Group plc, whose online gaming activities are licensed in the UK and in Malta, has earned gross winnings revenue of £39.2 million for the second quarter of the year, up from £30 million in the corresponding period last year. The positive results were attributed to World Cup activity and a year-on-year increase in customers of 30 per cent.

Pre-tax profit for the second quarter almost doubled to £10 million, from £5.9 million in the second quarter of the previous year.

Profit after tax for the second quarter of 2010 amounted to $9.1 million, from £5.4 million in the same quarter last year. Profit after tax for the first half of 2010 rose to £18.6 million from £15.3 million in the same period in 2009.

The number of active customers for the quarter was 402,091 compared to 309,099 for Q2 of 2009. Gross winnings revenue for the first six months of the year rose to £81 million from £66.2 million for the first half year of 2009.

“The expertise of the Unibet Sportsbook, especially during the World Cup, combined with a year on year increase in active customers of 30 per cent, contributed to strong operational results for the second quarter of 2010,” chief executive Henrik Tjärnström said. “Casino and games performance was also robust, while poker and bingo continued to face competitive pressures.

“During the second quarter, Unibet closed its Maltese site to residents of France. Unibet has applied for a French licence but considers that, under the restrictive terms of the licence, it will be hard for any operator to make a reasonable return. Unibet is therefore continuing to develop partnerships to leverage both its brand assets and reputation, as well as its expertise in Sportsbook, into the French market.”

Mr Tjärnström explained that despite the impact of the French market, Unibet’s gross win for July was higher than the same month in 2009. The group remains cautious about the outlook for the rest of 2010.

He stressed re-regulation of the gaming industry and consolidation among competitors creates significant opportunities and threats. In the short term, Unibet continues to focus its marketing and operational resources on the existing and the re-regulating markets which provide realistic prospects for profitable growth.

He expressed the executive team and the board’s intention to refine the strategy in different consumer markets and in the business to business market to develop a new long-term operational strategy for the business.

Unibet was originally granted a gaming licence to operate a betting office in Malta in April 2000. The group also holds a a Bookmakers Permit through a subsidiary from the Licensing Committee of North Westminster in London.

Founded in 1997, the online gambling company is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Nordic Exchange in Stockholm.

It is one of the largest privately-owned gambling operators in the European market and provides services in 27 languages through www.unibet.com. It has more than 4.7 million customers in over 100 countries. In December 2007, Unibet acquired Maria Holdings (www.maria.com), the largest online bingo operator in the Nordic market, operators of Bingo.com, licensed in Malta.

In April 2008, Unibet acquired Scandinavia’s largest trotting community, Travnet.

Earlier this week, Bingo.com Ltd announced a net loss of $27,977 in the second quarter compared to net loss of $266,702 in the second quarter of 2009 and a net loss of $344,806 in the first quarter of 2010.

The company has recently migrated players onto the Unibet Partner Programme to participate in their network bingo and casino programme. Meanwhile, it closed a $2.25 million investment from Unibet for 25.9 per cent of Bingo.com and sold two redundant subsidiaries for $250,000.