Betsson AB interim report April - June 2020
Second QUARTER APRIL – JUNE 2020
- Group revenue was SEK 1,532.8 (1,277.7) million, an increase of 20% with an organic increase of 12%.
- Casino revenue increased by 40%. Sportsbook revenue decreased by 34% and the sportsbook margin was 6.9% (7.8%).
- Operating income (EBIT) was SEK 217.7 (196.9) million.
The EBIT margin was 14.2% (15.4%). - Operating cash flow was 343.9 (390.6) million.
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS AND OUTLOOK
- Acquisition of GiG’s B2C vertical completed.
- New market entries into Colorado (USA) and Kenya.
- The AGM in June resolved on dividend paid to shareholders in July of SEK 2.88 per share, corresponding to SEK 393.6 million.
- The daily average revenue in the third quarter 2020 until 16 July was 35% (23% organic) higher than the average daily revenue of the full third quarter 2019.
CEO COMMENT
"I am proud that Betsson has delivered all-time high revenues under the most challenging conditions.”
“The second quarter was strong and followed the positive trend from the start of the year despite market challenges during this extraordinary period. The global pandemic had immediate effect on the Company from March onwards. We responded quickly and decisively to make changes in the offer, and I am particularly pleased to see the strong performance in casino. Sports betting revenues continued to be impacted in the second quarter by the pandemic as expected, however benefited from the progressive return of football and other sporting events at the end of the quarter. Our business has remained financially robust and resilient to this impact, being both diversified and flexible.
Our key focus areas remain the health and safety of both our employees and the societies in which we operate. Early on, we proactively took actions to enable both a safe and effective working environment for the whole Group and to ensure delivery of products and services to customers with uninterrupted quality.
From March to date, we have seen many changes in habits of how people work, interact, shop and enjoy entertainment, many enabled by advancements in technology and the use of digital devices. We believe the ongoing transition from offline to online has been further accelerated as a consequence of the global lockdowns. This will benefit the strategic direction of our business both short and long term.
In the quarter, we continued executing our strategic priorities, pushing through projects in accordance with the strategic plan. Betsson successfully completed the acquisition of the B2C operation from GiG and remotely onboarded approximately 60 new colleagues. We signed an agreement with Dostal Alley Casino in Colorado to enter the high-potential US market. Initially, we will start with B2C sports betting in the state of Colorado, with the ambition to sell our proprietary sportsbook to B2B customers in the future. In this quarter, we have also taken the first steps into Kenya by partnering with local partners. After the quarter, we have taken further steps to strengthen our position in South America where Betsson has expanded its presence in the only regulated market by acquiring 70% of the Colombian based operator Colbet. This deal will give us access to the Colombian market for online sport betting and casino.
The majority of our employees have been working from home and in the true ‘One Betsson’ spirit, we have all continued striving towards creating the best user experiences. This has been delivered through the full dedication of the teams, enabled by the quality of both our technical infrastructure and digital content. I am enormously proud of and thankful to all our people for their continued hard work and commitment to keeping the business momentum.
During this pandemic, governments have been modelling a range of scenarios of potential impact, several governments took immediate temporary actions on our industry such as either suspending gambling both offline and online or implementing restrictions on marketing. In the beginning of the third quarter, when most countries had removed Corona-related restrictions, Sweden sadly enough implemented restrictions on online casino, without empirical evidence. This measure will unfortunately push even more consumers to play outside of the Swedish regulation.
The immediate outlook is naturally uncertain, however Betsson is in good shape and we are in it for the long term. Our proprietary technology is a strategic advantage, our diversification in markets, verticals and brands makes us resilient to market fluctuations and our financials are rock solid. This makes me optimistic about the prospects for Betsson.”
PRESENTATION OF THE INTERIM REPORT
At 10:00 CEST today 21 July, Betsson invites analysts, investors and media to participate in the results presentation of the second quarter. The results will be presented by CEO Pontus Lindwall and CFO Martin Öhman. The presentation will be held in English, followed by a Q&A session. Participants are welcome to join via the link or phone, see details below.
Webcast link:
https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/dy9pof39
Dial-in numbers:
Sweden: +46 8 506 921 80
United Kingdom: +44 20 7192 8000
United States: +1 631 510 7495
Conference ID: 7249979
For further information, please contact:
Pontus Lindwall, President and CEO Betsson AB
+46 8 506 403 00 pontus.lindwall@betssonab.com
Martin Öhman, CFO Betsson AB
+46 8 506 403 00 martin.ohman@betssonab.com
Anna-Lena Åström, Head of Investor Relations
+46 761 80 55 46 anna-lena.astrom@betssonab.com
This information is information that Betsson AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication at 07:30 CEST on 21 July 2020.
About Betsson AB
Betsson AB (publ) is a holding company that invests in and manages fast-growing companies within online gaming. The company is one of the largest in online gaming in Europe and has the ambition to outgrow the market, organically and through acquisitions. This should be done in a profitable and sustainable manner, primarily in locally regulated markets. Betsson AB is listed at Nasdaq Stockholm, Large Caps (BETS). www.betssonab.com