bwin Interactive Entertainment AG
Ad hoc-Service: BETandWIN.com english
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betandwin.com turnover and net winnings up in first quarter
Performance above budget – high investment produces negative result
– Number of registered customers up 42 per cent since beginning of year
– Betting turnover nearly tripled compared to first quarter ’99
– Stock exchange flotation generates widespread publicity
– Strategic partnerships open up new sales channels and technologies
betandwin.com recorded significant increases in its most important
indicators for the first quarter of the year. The number of registered
customers shot up 42 per cent to 12,772 since the beginning of the
year, three times the figure for the first quarter last year. The
marketing campaign launched in conjunction with the stock exchange
flotation of the company generated vital publicity in key European mar
kets, resulting in a dramatic increase of traffic in the second half of
March.
betandwin.com’s flotation at the end of March was the most successful
IPO in the history of the Vienna Stock Exchange, with the issue
oversubscribed by a factor of 22. In placing the shares, a balanced mix
was obtained between private investors in Austria and institutional
investors from England, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Scandinavia.
Going public has enabled betandwin.com to enter into three strategic
partnerships. A long-term collaboration for sports sponsoring was
agreed upon with Harti Wei-rathers WPP, while the partnership with
Scandinavian Broadcasting Systems (SBS) gives betandwin.com marketing
opportunities on television channels and Internet portals throughout
Europe. This agreement extends the coverage of the company’s intensive
marketing activities, since SBS’s strength lies in the Scandinavian
countries, the Benelux countries and central Europe. As a result of a
WAP interface developed in cooperation with Mobilkom Austria,
betandwin.com’s betting platform will be available via cell phone by
the third quarter of the year.
The development of betandwin.com’s business in the first quarter was
better than budget. The number of bets placed increased from some
40,000 in the first quarter of 1999 to 140,000 in the same period this
year, an increase of 185 per cent. The value of the average stake
placed declined from EUR 17.6 to around EUR 14.3, a development in line
with the implementation of the company’s strategy of appealing to the
mass market. The net margin of 16.3 per cent achieved in the first quar
ter of 2000 compares with 11.6 percent in 1999. This development makes
it seem likely that the company will be able to realize its objective
of a 17 per cent margin in the year 2000.
Betting turnover in the first quarter of some EUR 2 million was around
35 per cent up on the figures which analysts had forecast for
betandwin.com. The company made a sizeable investment in human
resources and new technology in the first quarter, and at the same time
developed a detailed marketing plan for the next six months. The number
of employees rose from a staff of eight in the first quarter of 1999 to
27 at the end of March 2000. Work on a new website which extends the
offering from pure betting to entertainment and information continued
at full speed during the first three months of the year, and the new
site went online on May 1. A further 13,000 new customers were
registered in the first few weeks after the relaunching of the site, as
a result of which the number of registered customers has now risen to
over 25,000.
In the period under review betandwin.com started a marketing campaign
in line with its strategy of first working the Austrian market before
using the experience gained in the process to conquer further markets
in Italy, Scandinavia and central Europe. The aim is to increase
betandwin.com’s recognition rate from its present level of 30 per cent
to around 80 per cent by this autumn.
Management expects the number of registered customers to continue
growing rapidly throughout the year 2000. The challenge will be to
transform these visitors into regular bettors. The immediate objective
is to penetrate the Austrian home market with the aid of conventional
offline and online marketing measure, and preparations are now being
made to expand into international markets in Europe and Asia. For this
purpose betandwin.com is negotiating on further strategic partnerships
and acquisitions designed to accelerate its expansion. The company
still maintains its declared objective of reporting a positive cash
flow by the fourth quarter of 2001.
Key indicators:
EUR 000, in accordance Q1/2000 Q1/1999 1999 1998
with IAS
Betting turnover 2,004 704 5,379 2,871
Customer winnings -1,678 -583 -4,754 -2,656
Net betting revenue 326 121 625 215
Net revenue 424 131 731 279
Expenses -733 -167 -2,617 -945
EBITDA -309 -36 -1,886 -666
EBIT -371 -73 -2,226 -806
Result before tax -345 -77 -2,197 -821
Net loss -232 -25 -1,375 -534
Number of employees 27 8 13 7
Registered customers 12,772 3,912 8,970 –
Number of bets 140,063 40,007 105,407 –
betandwin.com is an Austria based and licensed internet betting
company, whose strategy is built on the three pillars of sport,
information and entertainment. A unique web presence and product backed
by strong strategic partners is aimed to create the world’s largest
entertainment portal around betting.
For further information, visit our website at www.betandwin.com or
contact us at investorrelations@betandwin.com.
Headquarters and Betting Operations Marketing and Finance
Runastrasse 90 Mariahilferstr. 32
6800 Feldkirch 1070 Vienna
Austria, Europe Austria, Europe
Tel: +43 5522 83292 +43 1 524 43 40
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