GVC reports 5% gaming revenue rise
Malta-licensed operator sees preliminary net gaming revenues rise as Betaland and Betboo brands grow.
GVC Holdings (GVC) has reported a 5% rise in preliminary net gaming revenues (NGR) for 2010 to 54.8m (£46.8m), on the back of growth in its Italian-facing Betaland and Latin American Betboo brands, the company announced this morning.
Gaming provided the main contribution to the Malta-licensed operator’s year-on-year rise in total revenue, with this component increasing 7.7% to 46.1m in the year to 31 December 2010, up from 42.9m in 2009. Sports wagers rose 23% year-on-year to 69.3m, from 55.8m, but a drop in sports hold to 13.3% from 16.6% resulted in a 4% fall in sports NGR to 8.7m from 9.2m the previous year.
The company said in its trading update this morning: “Sport wager volumes were positively affected by the FIFA World Cup during 2010, and the hold percentage was encouraging until the last quarter, when many favourites won their matches and the hold fell. “
NGR from GVC’s Italian-facing Betaland business increased 8% year-on-year to 22.2m from 20.5m, with gaming NGR again providing the main driver, rising 20% to 13.8m from 11.5m in 2009. Sports NGR however fell 7% to 8.4m from 9.1m.
Total NGR from GVC’s Latin American-facing Betboo brand, acquired by the operator in July 2009, rose to 5.2m, with gaming NGR providing 4.9m of this, although the availability of figures only for the second-half of 2009 for Betboo resulted in a lack of like-for-like comparatives. GVC also revealed that Betboo started trading in emerging markets from its Malta base on 5 January 2011, staffed by a team of 20.
Revenues from its German-facing CasinoClub brand however provided the one black spot, NGR falling 7% year-on-year to 27.4m from 29.4m.
GVC added that there was no further information to provide regarding its ongoing disputes with Boss Media regarding alleged infringement of its intellectual property and the ability of Boss to terminate its poker and downloadable casino contract for Betaland. The Maltese Court will hear Boss Media’s submission on jurisdiction on 24 February, while the date for oral submissions on jurisdiction to the tribunal in relation to the arbitration in Sweden has been preliminarily set for 20/21 June 2011. GVC said litigation costs were being expensed as incurred and would be disclosed separately in the group’s financial results.
The company will release its preliminary financial results for the year ended 31 December 2010, as well as a first-quarter trading update on Monday 28 March.