Positive first half for Svenska Spel

Svenska Spel’s CEO, Lennart Käll, comments on the first-half results for 2012:

- Increased sales of sports bets, Triss and Lotto. Net gaming revenue was us$ 710,001, an increase of us$ 18.4 million (2.7%) compared with the first half of 2011. This positive result is mainly due to increased sales of sports bets, Triss and Lotto.

- Development of responsible gambling measures. “We have launched a new responsible gambling app, called Spelkollen (Gamble check), which gives customers greater ability to keep an eye on their gambling themselves using their mobile phone. The self-test, where customers are able to check their gambling habits, has also been made available via mobile pone,” said Käll.

- Swedish National Audit Office report. At the end of June, the Swedish National Audit Office presented a report on the state control of the gaming market and made a number of recommendations for both the government and Svenska Spel.

- Satisfied customers and strong image maintained. Svenska Spel’s latest image survey showed that 63 per cent of Swedes have a positive opinion of the company, which remains the strongest among gaming companies. 39 per cent think that Svenska Spel takes its responsibility to reduce gambling addiction seriously. This figure is by far the highest achieved in comparison with the other gaming companies in the survey.

Interim period January-June 2012 in brief

- The group’s net gaming revenue increased to us$ 710 million (4,651), a rise of 2.7%.
- The group’s operating profit was us$ 355 million (2,326), an increase of 2.9%.
- The group’s first-half profit was us$ 359 million (2,356), an increase of 2.7%.
- The operating margin was 21.2% (21.4%). Lower margin as a resulted of modified product mix and increased operating expenses