The wagering giant Tabcorp released information about its financial performance during the first half of the year. According to the released data, the profit during the first half amounted to $81.9 million, down 33% as compared to the numbers reported this time last year. As for the underlying profit, it totaled $97.5 million, which means an increase of 7% was noted.
During the registered period, Tabcorp also spent $15.6 million on legal proceedings related to money laundering accusations. The joint project of Tabcorp and the UK newspaper “The Sun” also turned out to be a pricey investment.
The company has spent approximately $7 million on the proceedings brought by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre. According to information released by company officials, Tabcorp has taken the necessary actions for enhancing the anti-money laundering program and it has been closely working with AUSTRAC.
The revenues during the first half reached $1.1 billion, which is an increase of 1.8% as compared to last year’s results. TAB racing revenues were estimated at $895 million, up 2% year-on-year.
More and more players opt for placing a wager via their mobile devices and the reported revenue is a convincing proof of that statement. A revenue of $1.9 billion or an increase of 9% was reported. Mobile wagering accounted for as much as 65% of the digital wagering.
Tabcorp can also take pride in having contracted 730 new poker machines during the registered period. Despite the slight decline in profits, the company managed to boost its interim dividend.
Media business and wagering continue to be a major source of revenue although media revenues experienced a slight decrease of 0.6% and totaled $85.8 million. The decline was mainly attributed to the Victorian thoroughbred media rights arrangements.
The intensified competition affected the totalisator business of Tabcorp in a negative manner. A decline of 3.7% was reported. Meanwhile, there was a significant jump of 19.6% in fixed odds racing products where the revenue reached $256.8 million.
The net profit during the first half was reported at $97.5 million, which is an increase of 7.3% as compared to the results a year earlier. Earnings before EBITDA amounted to $266 million.
Luxbet, the online arm of Tabcorp, achieved an increase in turnover of 4.4% and announced that its interim dividend was lifted to 12¢ per share.
According to market analysts and stakeholders, Tabcorp’s financial performance was mixed. Yet, they remained hopeful that Tabcorp will revive merger talks with Tatts Group as this was considered beneficial to shareholders on both sides of the fence.
