Market Briefs - Oct. 25-29, 2004

3 November 2004

Sportingbet Reports Growth

After delaying the release of its latest financial report due to negotiations to purchase Tropical Paradise (the operator of Paradise Poker), Sportingbet Plc (SBT.L) has announced its financial report for the 16 months ended July 31, 2004. The company is boasting turnover of £1,431.9 million, operating profit before goodwill and exceptional costs of £21.7 million, cash generation from operating activities of £24.3 million and basic earnings per share pre goodwill and exceptional costs of 10.0p. Its betting operations handled 8.3 bets per second over the last 12 months, with the number of sports bets increasing 36 percent to 31.9 million and the cost per bet reduced by 12 percent. The number of registered customers is up 30 percent to 1,231,649, while casino, gaming and fee income is up 41 percent to £40.2 million.

Racing Trust Getting Incredible Deal on Tote

According to the Guardian, it appears that the U.K. Tote will be sold to the Racing Trust for £150 million. Considering that the Tote comes with a seven-year monopoly on pool betting, 457 high street shops and operating returns of £28.7 million on turnover of £1.47 billion, many bankers believe the actual value is closer to £500 million.

Reports Released

Betcorp Ltd. (BCL.AX) has filed its financial report for the third quarter of 2004 ended Sept. 30, 2004, along with a detailed explanation of its most recent financial performance. The company revealed an EBITDA loss of $11.2 million on the quarter, due heavily to exceptional one-off costs of $9.1 million. The net loss for the period was $11.3 million, compared to a net profit of $2.3 million over the same period last year. Among the one-off costs is the closing of the head office in Sydney, which accounted for a $334,240 spending on compensation for seven employees. The sale of Betcorp's Sportsbet subsidiary accounted for a $1.7 million dollar loss, and other miscellaneous extraordinary items and write-offs--including director and consultant contracts ($629,096), aborted acquisition fees and capitalized costs ($2.9 million), and accounting treatment, general provisions and general write-offs ($4 million)--constituted the $9.1 million one-off costs.

  • Betcorp Ltd. - Third Quarter Report

    Boss Media AB (BOSS.ST) has reported financial results for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2004, showing a 57 increase in net sales to $22.1 million. In the last quarter alone, the group experienced a 59 percent growth in net sales to $7.5 million as compared to the same period last year. The nine months gave boss $8.6 million in profit after financial items, with $3.2 million of the profit coming in the third quarter. Net profit for the nine months was $6.1 million, up from 2.2 million last year, and net profit for the third quarter was $2.3 million, up from $813,000 million last year.

  • Boss Media AB - Third Quarter Report