12th May 2015 09:19
LONDON (Alliance News) - Sportech PLC Tuesday said it rejected an approach for its Football Pools division and said it has made "good progress" on its strategic objectives so far in 2015.
The pool betting organisation said its trading is in line with expectations for the full year, although trading has declined in some of its areas of operation
Sportech confirmed that it has received an approach for The Football Pools business, but rejected it as it "did not match our valuation of the division". It did not say who made the offer.
Sportech added that it continues to expect stability in the Football Pools to be achieved from 2015 and beyond, as 8,400 new subscription players have been recruited so far in 2015 in the direct business channel, a 10% increase on last year. Direct channel revenues are slightly ahead of the prior year, with the increase in weekly revenue per customer exceeding an overall reduction in player numbers, it said.
Sportech said its Racing and Digital division in the US is on track to "go-live" with the supply of its Quantum tote system to Betfred's Totepool business in the UK, with a full roll-out to take place over the summer.
However, Racing wagers were down 3% in the four months to the end of April, and Digital lost two significant customers, including Colonial Downs in Virginia, which ceased all racing operations in April.
Trading in its Venues division in the US state of Connecticut was hit by a severe winter freeze causing temporary venue closures and race day cancellations, and by a reduction in amounts wagered across the industry as a whole, Sportech said, leading to a 9% decline in overall betting volumes.
Betting turnover at the Kentucky Derby was slightly ahead of last year at USD4 million, which is a record high for the business, Sportech said.
"Cost actions are being taken across the group to position the business for the future, meaning that the full year results remain in line with expectations," Sportech said in a statement.
Shares in Sportech were trading down 0.7% at 67.50 pence Tuesday morning.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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