Swedish gambling operator Betsson AB reported today its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2016. Revenue was up 18% to SEK1 billion compared to the amount of SEK847.4 million posted for the same period of the previous year.
The company said that its most recently acquired Europe-Bet online gaming business reported a 37% growth in constant currency during the three months in review. Betsson further noted that its consumer brands grew 21% in constant currency.
Revenue from sportsbook operations also increased considerably during the first quarter of the calendar year. It was up 27% year-on-year in constant currency. The gambling operator said that revenue from mobile devices accounted for 58% of the overall turnover from its sportsbook business.
Operating income for the period amounted to SEK250.1 million compared to SEK238 million generated during the first quarter of 2015. Operating margin was 25% compared to 28.1% for the same period a year ago.
Income before tax totaled SEK248.9 million, up from the SEK236.4 million posted for the three months ended March 31, 2015. Net income stood at SEK234 million, up from the amount of SEK224.1 million from the previous year.
The operator reported that during the period in review, it had a total of 538,077 active players, up 45%. Customer deposits in all gambling options provided by the Swedish company totaled SEK3.5 billion, corresponding to an increase of 11%.
During the first quarter of the year, Betsson’s Eurocasino, CasinoEuro, Norgesautomaten, and Sverigeautomaten brands were all migrated to the Techsson shared technology platforms. In other words, all the operator’s existing businesses except for the recently acquired Europe-Bet now generate income from a single technical platform. The Swedish company also pointed out in its report that it has been granted a license in Ireland and that it considers it has good potential for a solid growth in the country.
Ulrik Bengtsson, President and CEO of Betsson, said that the company’s organic growth continued to be strong during the reported period and that it had its eighth consecutive quarter of growth in constant currency exceeding market growth in its main markets. Mr. Bengtsson further noted that they managed to migrate Betsson’s old brands to the shared technology platform successfully and this would additionally strengthen the operator’s opportunities for a “good growth.”
