23rd Mar 2015 11:01
LONDON (Alliance News) - GVC Holdings PLC Monday upped its total dividend for 2014 and proposed a special dividend, as it saw pretax profit jump on a rise in revenue and exceptional costs not recurring.
The online sports betting and gaming company proposed a final dividend of 14.0 euro cents per share, up from 12.5 cents per share, and proposed a special dividend of 1.5 cents, taking its total dividend for the year to 55.5 cents compared to 48.5 cents a year before.
The company posted a rise in pretax profit to EUR41.3 million from EUR13.0 million in 2013, as net revenue rose to EUR224.8 million from EUR170.0 million, offsetting higher operating costs. In the previous year, the company posted an exceptional cost of EUR19.7 million related to restructuring and costs associated with its acquisition of Sportingbet PLC in March 2013.
Stripping out these exceptional costs, pretax profit rose to EUR41.3 million from EUR32.8 million.
The company said that its current trading in the first quarter of 2015 is strong, with average net gaming revenue up 18% at EUR661,000 a day compared to EUR559,000 in the comparative period a year before.
"GVC has never been in a stronger position and we look forward to 2015 and beyond with confidence," said Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Alexander in a statement.
Shares in GVC are trading up 2.0% at 463.00 pence Monday morning.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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