Betfair Releases First Quarter Results

Online wagering company Betfair has released its first quarter financial results with few surprises and a promising start to the second quarter.

A company statement said, "Trading has been encouraging in the second quarter, including a good start to the football season,"

The first quarter showed a drop in revenue when compared to the same period last year due to the fact the World Cup was held in 2010. Betfair saw a dip in revenue of 7% to £80.8 million.

Commenting on the financials, Betfair Chief Executive David Yu said, "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.

"Overall Sports revenue was impacted, however, by lower revenue from our risk products due to adverse sporting results in May as previously reported. Since May, margins in risk products have returned to historical levels.

"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."

Betfair's key indicators for the first quarter were:

• Revenue down 7% compared to the same period last year to &pound80.8 million.

• Mobile growth of 94% compared to the same period last year with 7.4 million bets being placed, and revenues of £11million.

• Core Betfair revenues up 12% in August 2011.

• 1.7 million shares purchased through a stock buyback program which cost the company £11 million.

Betfair's stock is currently struggling, with shares dropping 68% since the company listed last year. Currently the stock price is 628p for the UK based company.

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