12th Jan 2015 09:31
LONDON (Alliance News) - Sports betting and gaming company GVC Holdings PLC Monday said it ended 2014 with "record" sports revenue in the final quarter, prompting it to declare a third interim dividend, while it also has seen a strong start to 2015.
In a trading update, GVC said it ended 2014 with net gaming revenue of more than EUR20.3 million for December, equal to EUR656,000 per day, up 17% on December 2013. It said its sports margin improved to 9.9% from 9.1%.
For the fourth quarter as a whole, net gaming revenue was up 22% on last year at EUR646,000 per day, with sports wagers up 11% and a sports margin of 9.1%, up from last year's 8.4%.
Net gaming revenue for all of 2014 was EUR224.6 million, up 23% on 2013, with a sports margin of 9.8%, higher than last year's 9.6%.
GVC said that 2015 has started strongly on the back of "exceptional sports margins", with deposits made by customers up 22% to an average of EUR1.6 million per day in the eight days to January 8. Sports wagers grew 9.7% to an average of EUR4.0 million per day, it said, with a strong sports margin of 12.8%, up from 9.4% last year.
GVC declared a third interim dividend of EUR12.5 cents, up 8.7% on the prior year.
"2014 has been an exciting and successful year with the group now in a strong position to further its growth," said Chief Executive Kenneth Alexander in a statement. "We look forward to providing the market with a more detailed update when we report the group's preliminary results in March."
The group said it plans to release its 2014 financial results in the week commencing March 23.
GVC shares were trading 0.2% higher Monday morning at 480.00 pence.
By Rowena Harris-Doughty; [email protected]; @rharrisdoughty
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