Betfair announced a robust exchange performance for the third quarter

(UK).- Betfair released its Interim Management Statement together with key performance indicators for the three month period ended 31 July 2011. Core Betfair revenue was down 7% to us$ 129 million against a record comparative period.

2011-09-09

United Kingdom

Reading time 1:27 min

(UK).- Betfair released its Interim Management Statement together with key performance indicators for the three month period ended 31 July 2011. Core Betfair revenue was down 7% to us$ 129 million against a record comparative period.

The firm had a robust exchange performance: Revenue flat despite the significant World Cup uplift in first quarter 2011 and a strong mobile growth: 7.4 million bets (up 94%) and us$ 6.7 million of revenue (up 78%).

Other highlights are an encouraging current trading: Core Betfair revenue up 12% in August and a buy-back programme underway: 1.7 million shares repurchased to date for us$ 17.5 million.

David Yu, Betfair's CEO, commented: "I am pleased with our performance in the quarter. Betting Exchange revenue was flat compared to Q1 FY11, which was significantly boosted by the World Cup, and is up 19% over the last two years. Our unique business model means that Betfair continues to offer customers superior value and this resulted in our best ever Royal Ascot, Wimbledon and Open Golf Championship. The Exchange continues to be vibrant and, importantly, we have started to deliver on our plan to improve the monetisation of this activity through the dual levers of more customer education and targeted pricing changes”.

He added that overall sports revenue was impacted, however, by lower revenue from their risk products due to adverse sporting results in May as previously reported. Since May, margins in risk products have returned to historical levels.

He continued: "Our mobile products have seen particularly strong customer traction in the quarter, with around one third of Sports customers using a mobile device to place a bet. The 7.4 million mobile bets placed in the quarter was almost double the number made in the same period last year. The broad reach of our mobile products across 17 languages and multiple platforms gives us a strong base for continued growth.”

"Trading has been encouraging in the second quarter, including a good start to the football season. Consequently, Core Betfair revenue in August was up 12% versus the same period last year and, whilst it is still early in the financial year and the economic environment remains uncertain, we remain comfortable with the outlook for FY12," he concluded.