Betbull Holding SE
Betbull Holding SE (‘Betbull’) announces the release of group consolidated unaudited financial statements for the first nine months ended 30th September 2012
Betbull Holding SE / Key word(s): Quarter Results / 1. Financial highlights for the first nine months to 30th September 2012 – Betting stakes of EUR 53.6m for the first nine months (FNM) down 3.4% compared to EUR 55.5m in FNM 2011. – Net gaming revenue of EUR 9.2m for the first nine months down 8.9% compared to EUR 10.1m in FNM 2011. – EBITDA of EUR (1.3)m for the first nine months (including EUR 0.6m one-off cost for licensing process in Germany and system development costs) down EUR 1.4m compared to EUR 0.1m in FNM 2011. – Adjusted EBITDA (before share benefit charges) of EUR (1.2)m for the first nine months down EUR 1.3m compared to EUR 0.1m in FNM 2011. – Loss for the first nine months of EUR 1.7m down EUR 1.67m compared to loss of EUR 0.03m in FNM 2011. – Cash position as at 30th September 2012 of EUR 5.9m compared to EUR 6.6m as at 30th June 2012 and to EUR 8.6m as at 30th September 2011. The unaudited financial statements for the first nine months ended 30th September 2012 will be published on the corporate website www.betbull.com. – Highlights for the first nine months to 30th September 2012: Betbull’s business performance, in particular in Quarter III, was negatively affected by the following circumstances: A later than usual start of the football season due to the Olympic games, the new German sports betting tax of 5% on stakes introduced 1 July 2012 in addition to the 0.5% betting tax in Malta, and a comparatively low hold margin of only 10% on stakes in September due to a high percentage of favourite wins. During the first nine months to 30th September 2012 Betbull incurred additional costs of EUR 0.6m in connection with the current German licensing processes, including additional team, advisory services, and systems development. Betbull has initiated a restructuring program aiming at improving its profitability. That will include the closing and disposal of premises which are likely to be unsuitable as licensed premises under the State Treaty on Gambling (‘Erster Glücksspieländerungsstaatsvertrag’). Management is confident that this will lead to a reduced fraction of lease costs in 2013 and the following years. In August the 15 German Federal States (except Schleswig-Holstein) started the tender process to grant up to 20 sports betting licenses valid for a period of seven years. Primebet International Ltd., Malta, Betbull’s licensed betting operator, successfully completed phase one of the tender process and is currently working on its final application for phase two due in January 2013. The tender process deadlines and the application requirements have been changed several times already and Management is unable to reliably estimate a date for a potential license grant, originally planned end of March 2013. Alexander Leip, Managing Director of Betbull Holding SE, comments on today’s press release as follows: ‘The uncertainty in the German betting marketing is currently very high. The German sports betting license tender process significantly adds to this. It seems that material specific requirements for retail operators are either not clear or completely impractical, and that the license tender process has been tailored predominantly to the specific situation of international online sports betting operators. It is virtually impossible during this process to rectify some apparent misconceptions about how retail betting operators work and we hope to enter into a constructive dialogue with the licensing authority on various material issues after the completion of the licensing process. The sole beneficiary of further delays and additional stricter requirements for retail operators will be black market bookmakers. The negative results for the first nine months are largely owed to an exceptionally negative third quarter where several negatively impacting factors converged. ‘, concludes Alexander Leip. Betbull Holding SE
Betbull Holding SE
– ENDS – Contact Betbull Holding SE is registered at the Commercial Court of Vienna under the Company register Number FN 353397b (formerly registered in England & Wales under the Registration Number SE12). This release can be downloaded from the website www.betbull.com. About Betbull Betbull is an established provider of gaming centred retail entertainment, based in Vienna, Austria. Betbull offers its customers principally horse and sport betting at licensed betting shops, complemented by slot machines, internet betting and sport bars. Betbull accepts bets based on licences in Malta and Germany. In Germany, Betbull products are available above all under the ‘Wettenleip’ brand. Betbull itself has been quoted on the Third Market of the Vienna Stock Exchange (‘Other Securities’) since October 2004 (ISIN AT0000A0KPX9, formerly AT0000615331) and was established as a joint venture between Fun Technologies Plc and bwin Interactive Entertainment AG. For detailed information on Betbull, visit www.betbull.com. End of Corporate News 30.11.2012 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP – a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. DGAP’s Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de |
Language: | English | |
Company: | Betbull Holding SE | |
Mariahilfer Straße 116 | ||
1070 Wien | ||
Austria | ||
Phone: | +356 21480131 | |
Fax: | +356 21480132 | |
E-mail: | info@betbull.com | |
Internet: | www.betbullse.com | |
ISIN: | AT0000A0KPX9 | |
WKN: | A1C86G | |
Listed: | Freiverkehr in Berlin, Stuttgart; Wien (Dritter Markt (MTF) / Third Market (MTF)) | |
End of News | DGAP News-Service |
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