German online gambling operator bet-at-home.com published its consolidated financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2016. Considerable growth in betting and gaming revenue and increase in marketing expenditure were the two main highlights in the company’s first-half report.
During the period in review, gross betting and gaming revenue increased 15.2% year-on-year to €65.4 million. In comparison, the amount of €56.7 million was reported for the same six months of the previous year. Betting and gaming volume amounted to €1.4 billion during the first half of the year, reflecting a 16.8% increase from the €1.2 billion posted for the first half of 2015.
Betting fees and gambling levies totaled €8 million during the reported period. VAT tax for online gambling operators providing their options within the European Union amounted to €4.3 million for bet-at-home.com. As a result, the company posted net betting and gaming revenue of €53.1 million for the first half of the year, up 13.9% year-on-year.
The growth in revenue was attributed to the company’s increased marketing efforts, with a particular focus on campaigns related to the UEFA Euro 2016 which took place from June 10 to July 10 in France.
EBITDA totaled €9 million during the first six months of the year, down from the amount of €16 million generated during the same period of the previous year. Despite the significant marketing investment made during the second quarter of the year, mainly related to UEFA Euro Championship advertising, the gambling operator posted positive EBITDA of €1.5 million for the three months ended June 30.
EBIT for the first six months of the year met initial expectations and dropped to €8.5 million from the €15.5 million reported for the first half of 2015.
During the period in review, bet-at-home.com spent €26.6 million in marketing costs, as originally planned, up 75% as compared to the money spent on advertising during the same period of 2015.
The gambling operator pointed out that the increased marketing activity resulted in an increase in the number of registered customers, among other positive effects. By June 30, the company had 4.5 million registered gambling customers compared to a total of 4.1 million reported at the end of the previous year’s first half.
