Leading online sports betting and gaming group Sportingbet has released its results for the third quarter of the year and announced that its operating profit has risen by 110 percent.
Sportingbet was forced to sell or close its entire US operation following the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in October of last year and stated that these latest results exclude this business.
Financial highlights include the rise in operating profit to $8.5 million from last year’s $4.1 million and the company reported that 13.8 percent of this increase was down to gaming, up from 2006’s 6.2 percent.
It announced cash on the balance sheet of $52 million, down from last year’s $106 million, and a statutory group losses of $3.4 million, which was considerably down on 2006’s $490.3 million.
'I am delighted with the group's strong performance in the first quarter, which has given us a very solid start to the financial year,” said Andrew McIver, Chief Executive for Sportingbet.
“With much of the restructuring now behind us, our focus can now be on better recruitment and retention of customers, on being a first class retailer of gaming services and on offering a true Internet-based experience. The second quarter has started well with good margins and volumes across the group. With the platform for growth in place, the board looks to the future with confidence.'