Betsson CEO: We fell short in Q2

son CEO Ulrik Bengtsson has expressed disappointment with the operator’s second quarter results, which included a 27% year on-year drop in net income to SEK 146.4m (£12.9m).

Income before tax also dropped, going down 26% to SEK 156.4.

Bengtsson said: “The results in the second quarter did not live up to our expectations. Many factors made the quarter challenging; primarily unfavourable currency effects, lower than average sportsbook margins and lower revenue in certain markets, partly due to regulatory changes.”

There was some respite in the field of revenue, which ascended 9% to SEK 935.4m and sportsbook revenue went up 8% to SEK 223m.

Acquired operations accounted for SEK 94.1m of that total, generated by Europe-Bet, an operator acquired by Betsson in a deal worth up to $85m in July 2015.

Betsson’s number of registered customers was 9.5 million at the end of the quarter, up by 1.4 million.

Results for the first half of the year were also published, and read as a similar story.

While revenue grew by 13% to SEK 1.94bn for the period, operating income tumbled 10% to SEK 408.4m, income before tax declined 10% to SEK 405.3m and net income retracted 11% to SEK 380.3m.

Bengtsson said: “The sportsbook offering and functionality have been improved considerably, new exciting products have been launched and our casino has been upgraded. These actions will have effect in future quarters, and we have already in the end of the second quarter seen a strong uplift in active customers. The third quarter has started with daily revenue significantly above the average of the second quarter.”