Ladbrokes owner GVC scores World Cup profit of £113.6m
PROFITS AT Ladbrokes owner GVC were boosted by the World Cup in the first half of the year, helping offset woes linked to the Beast from the East.
The sports betting and gaming group, which completed its £4bn acquisition of Ladbrokes Coral in March, posted a pre-tax profit of £113.6m in the six months to June 30, compared to a loss of £22.8m last year.
Revenue jumped eight per cent to £1.7bn and operating profit rose 17 per cent to £278m.
Like-for-like retail sales in the UK were down three per cent as GVC pointed to “poor weather”, but it added they would have been much worse without a lift from the World Cup.
Sales were dented by extreme weather in the first quarter, with horse racing cancellations hitting the firm’s performance.
A total of 12 per cent of all horse racing fixtures cancelled due to the Beast from the East were in the first three months of the year.
GVC reiterated that a Government move to cut the maximum stake for fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) to £2 could see around 1,000 Ladbrokes Coral shops shut. “We await a decision from the Government on an implementation date, but we expect enactment of the new legislation to be complete by the end of the calendar year,” the group said.
Bookmakers across the board expect to take a hit.
GVC boss Kenneth Alexander also said the firm has identified more cost savings linked to the Ladbrokes deal. “We have now identified capex synergies of at least £30m in addition to the £130m cost synergies,” he added.