As the group celebrates its 60th year of operations, Betsson has revealed a ‘record strong start to 2023 trading’ in its first quarter results.
Publishing its Q1 interim update, Betsson published strong financial performanc, as group revenues increased by 30 per cent to €222m compared to Q1 2022 results of €170m.
The growth was headlined by a 37 per cent increase in casino revenues to €152m, alongside a 19 per cent uptick in sports betting revenue at €67m, while sportsbook maintained an eight per cent margin.
Pontus Lindwall, Betsson CEO, commented “Betsson started 2023 with yet another strong quarter, again delivering record numbers for revenue and EBIT, even though the first quarter has historically often had less activity than other quarters.
“The year has started well for Betsson with continued profitable growth and strong cash flows. We can look ahead to the rest of the year with a solid financial position that enables continued investments in sustainable growth and value creation for our shareholders.”
A surge in deposits was supported by strong KPIs, as record customer deposits figure stood at €1.14bn a sizable increase on Q12022’s €782m to say that the company had also witnessed an 11 per cent drop in active customers from 1.256 million to 1.115 million.
Group EBITDA witnessed a 62 per cent rise to €54.3m with a margin of 24.5 per cent, and operating income increased by 82.2 per cent to €43m, lauding a 19.4 per cent margin.
Meanwhile, mixed results were on show in Betsson’s market-by-market breakdown covering its global portfolio. Declining revenue in Sweden and Norway offset growth in Finland and Denmark as the group’s Nordic revenue declined by four per cent.
This was counteracted by performance in Western Europe, in which unit revenues increased by 22.4 per cent to €27.2m as peak performance in Italy provided a counter to struggles in Germany due to market restrictions.
In Central & Eastern Europe and Central Asia, revenue rose by 75.1 per cent to €93.5m, driven by record highs in Croatia and Greece alongside strong underlying activity in both casino and sports betting sectors.
Betsson’s Latin America operations witnessed revenue increase by 23.1per cent to €45.2m, with growth across all countries despite seasonal effects and the impact of political issues. Betsson was also granted an online gaming licence in the province of Cordoba, Argentina during the quarter.
Consolidated revenue from Nigeria supported by Betsson’s increased ownership in Nigerian operator Betbonanza, from 25 to 60 per cent, contributed to the group’s Rest of the World revenue uptick of 13.2 per cent to €4.2m.
Closing its accounts for Betsson’s Q1, net income stood at €36.6m or €0.28 per share, and operating cash flow reached €48.8m while net debt declined to €104.5m.
