Betfair record £49m loss

air have announced a pre-tax loss of over £49m for the 2013 financial year.

The online exchange recorded a loss of £49.4m for the 12 months ended 30 April, down from a profit of £54.2m the previous financial year.

Much of the loss was down to a £82.4m impairment of assets and £19.4m worth of restructuring costs.

Underlying profits for the period were down 27% year-on-year to £38m, while revenues decreased £1.5m to £387m.

Betfair CEO Breon Corcoran said: “This is a solid set of results in what has been a year of transition for Betfair. Revenues lost as a result of changing regulation have been largely replaced with regulated, more sustainable revenues.

“Following the outline of our new strategic plan at our half year results in December, the business has undergone significant change and much progress has been made in a short time.

“A new management team is leading the business, a wide ranging restructuring has been completed ahead of schedule, marketing investment has been focused on core markets and we have successfully launched a Sportsbook.”