888 noted that the majority of the business posted relatively stable revenues, but this was offset by declines in the UK - reflecting the implementation of more stringent safer gambling policies - and the closure of the Netherlands. Excluding these two regions, revenue was up 2% year-on-year.
Adjusted EBITDA for the period was £50m, a year-on-year decline of 29%, with the adjusted EBITDA margin lower due to “continued investment in the US to support SI Sportsbook state launches, together with additional compliance related costs.”
Profit before tax was also down year-on-year, declining 66% to £14.4m.
In terms of strategic M&A, July 2022 was a busy month for 888, which included the acquisition of William Hill, and the sale of B2C and B2B bingo operations. The former has positioned the group as a top-three operator in the UK and Spain, while the latter has allowed the group to increase its focus on its core betting and gaming platform.
“The combination with William Hill, which we completed soon after the period end, transformed the group and creates very strong foundations to support our ambitious growth plans,” said 888 CEO Itai Pazner.
“This combination of two exceptional and complementary businesses creates one of the world’s leading online betting and gaming groups with superior scale, leading front-end and back-end technology, increased diversification across products, markets and channels, and a world class team.
“The group’s financial performance in the period primarily reflects market conditions in the UK. However, we believe the proactive actions we have taken to increase player protections and drive higher standards of player safety have put the group in an even stronger position for the future.”
Earlier today, Flutter Entertainment posted revenue of £3.38bn for the six months ended 30 June 2022, a 9% increase from the prior-year period. It follows Entain’s H1 2022 results from earlier this week, with the group reporting revenue of £2.1bn, a 19% increase from the prior-year period.
