Caesars Interactive H1 profits up 77%

Revenues hit $363m in the first half of the year, leading to adjusted EBITDA of $133m and an operating income of $95m

Caesars Interactive Entertainment (CIE) has reported a 35% year-on-year increase in H1 2015 revenues to $363m, driven by growth in its mobile and social gaming division. [private]

CIE, which operates both real-money sites in New Jersey and Nevada as well as social gaming business Playtika, saw a 78% hike in adjusted EBITDA to $133m during the six month period ended 31 June, leading to an operating income of $95m.

During the second quarter Playtika grew monthly paying unique users to 960,000 compared with 539,000 during Q2 last year, with average revenues per user per day increasing from $0.26 to $0.31 over the same period.

Caesars Entertainment CEO Mark Frissora said the growth in his firm’s social gaming division was due to the “continued focus on monetization” and the “release of new gaming contact”.

Frissora also said the CIE’s real-money gaming business had seen an uptick in deposits in Nevada following the World Series of Poker Main Event which took place in the state in June,

And in New Jersey the operator “continues to focus on cross marketing and cross promotional initiatives” with its Total Rewards program.

Caesars Entertainment remained the largest social operator in the world in the second quarter of the year, with revenues of more than double that of its nearest rivals Zynga according to a report issued by Eilers Research.

Eilers also highlighted Caesars Interactive’s paying player conversion rate as an area where it “continues to excel”.