London-listed Sportingbet absorbed a significant loss upon the $1.00 disposal of its U.S.-facing operation last September, though the company remains positive about its existing operations and has plans to venture into as-yet untapped markets.
In its full-year results published today, the company reported a loss of £312.9 million ($637.5 million), compared with a £69.2 million profit in the same period last year. It also faced a major corporate restructuring, including the elimination of 450 jobs and the relocation of its licensed operations to the Channel Islands.
The numbers come as no surprise as several publicly-held companies that exited the U.S. market last year have released similar results. But Sportingbet CEO Andrew McIver indicated that the news wasn't all bad.
"Given the enormity of the change and restructuring that has taken place at Sportingbet, I am pleased to report a strong increase in gross win in the continuing business and especially pleased with the growth in our core European sports betting business of 48 percent," McIver said in a prepared statement.
With regard to its sports betting operations, results showed gross win rose by 48 percent over the previous year. The company said it expected further growth across Europe as more countries begin to liberalize their gaming policies.
Furthermore, turnover from its continuing operations--which include the European sports book, a casino and poker business, an Australian sports business and Paradise Poker--saw an increase of 23 percent over last year to £1.1 billion ($2.2 billion). Turnover for the same period in 2006 was £890 million ($1.8 billion).
The company is now looking to "new and underrepresented" markets for further growth, it said. It recently acquired a Turkish marketing partner and has invested further in its Italian operation, Sportingbet Italia S.p.A.
Sportingbet lost 5p, or 1 percent, to 48 upon the release of its results.
Click here to view a copy of Sportingbet's year-end results.