Online betting site Ladbrokes PLC released its 2010 third quarter financial report this week, announcing a profit surge of 128% from the third quarter of 2009. Ladbrokes saw its profits rise from £22.4 million to £51.1 million ($81.4 million), helped greatly by World Cup betting.
The company, which owns more than 2,700 retail betting shops across Europe, said its operating profit before interest, tax, and high roller sums more than doubled due to lower costs as the bookmaker streamlines its operations. The cut in expenses leads Ladbrokes Chief Executive Officer Richard Glynn to believe the company will meet its full year projections.
“Although bolstered by successful latter stages of the World Cup and an easy comparative period, the growth rates achieved in the third quarter give the Board confidence that the Group is on track to meet its full year expectations,” said Glynn, who took over as CEO in April. “Ladbrokes has a great brand and a strengthened management team determined to drive operational improvements going forward. Though much remains to be done, I am encouraged by the progress we are making across the Group and I look forward to updating the market in February 2011.”
Ladbrokes saw a 5% decrease in the number of wagers compared to last year, but the amount of heavily bet World Cup games made up for it. With betting favorites like Brazil, France, Italy, and England performing poorly during the four-week tournament in South Africa, Ladbrokes saw an £8.3 million gross win from the World Cup.
Online poker revenues dropped by 27% from the third quarter of last year, but the company was picked up by strong performances from the sports book, casino, and bingo operations. Over-the-counter revenue increased 16%, while total machine gross win rose 10%. E-gaming saw a total increase of 17%.
Losses from high rollers, or customers who place larger and more frequent bets via telephone, were up at £4.4 million for the quarter compared with a loss of £2.8 million last year. The company has still made £4.5 million in profits from high rollers in the year to date.
Regionally, U.K. retail revenue increased 12%, while Belgium rose by 2% and Ireland stayed level. Ireland’s economic troubles resulted in a 9% decline in the amount of money staked by over-the-counter customers.
Ladbrokes, William Hill, and Paddy Power have recently been rumored to be interested in purchasing the State-owned betting firm Horserace Totalizer Board, known as the Tote. The British government said last month that the sale of the Tote would be launched in the late autumn as part of a wider sale of assets. Glynn denied the rumors this week, saying that that buying isn’t a priority. “It is not the highest on our agenda [as] we have a pretty good retail estate at the moment. We continue to watch this space carefully.”
