Online and mobile sports betting continues to drive Fortuna growth

Central European gaming operator Fortuna Entertainment Group has reported a 7 per cent increase in gross win to €83.4m for the nine month period ended September 30th, with further growth from the company’s online and mobile sports betting offering helping to offset declines from its retail betting and lottery businesses.

Gross win from sports betting increased by 10 per cent to €78.1m compared to a year ago, as further growth from the company’s online and mobile sports betting offering offset a decline in its retail channel.

Year-to-Date 2013 Results

The company’s interactive channel saw gross win climb 40 per cent to €36.2m, and now accounts for more than 46 per cent of total sports betting gross win. Gross win from retail betting fell by 7 per cent year-on-year to €41.9m, while the company’s lottery business saw gross win fall by 25 per cent to €5.3m.

Fortuna Entertainment Group CEO Radim Haluza said: “We are pleased to once more report very good results for the first nine months of 2013. The main driver of our performance was expansion of internet and mobile sports betting which has been growing rapidly this year in all the countries where Fortuna is present.”

Sports betting in the Czech Republic generated more than half of the company’s total amounts staked during the nine month period, following double-digit growth compared to a year ago. The company’s online offering also recorded double-digit growth, offsetting a decline in retail betting gross win.

In Slovakia, amounts staked from sports betting rose by a double-digit figure following growth in both retail and online. Online sports betting gross win posted double-digit growth, while retail grew at a single-digit level.

Amounts staked in Poland grew at a high single digit rate, driven by online betting, although results were impacted by a high betting tax in the country. Retail delivered approximately 75 per cent of total gross win, despite a higher relative growth level from the online business.

Fortuna’s lottery business in the Czech Republic saw amounts staked decline by 21 per cent to €11.1m due to lower sales of numerical games. The company said that scratch tickets continue to perform well however. Gross win from lottery fell by 25 per cent to €5.3m.

Overall, Fortuna recorded a 36 per cent improvement in EBITDA to €18.1m for the nine month period, despite a €0.3m loss generated by the lottery business.

“We remain positive concerning our performance for the rest of 2013 and we believe that our targets for this year will be met,” added Haluza.

Shares in Fortuna Entertainment Group (Co. Data) (PSE:FOREG) have gained 2.29 per cent to CZK115.90 per share as at 10:31 CET in Prague following the announcement this morning.