Shares in GVC rose to 660GBX at 8:30am, following the announcement.

Underlying EBITDA on a pro forma basis was up 13% to £755.3m with reported group loss after tax of £56.4m, after charging £434.2m of separately disclosed items, of which £322.5m relates to the non-cash amortisation of acquired intangibles.

GVC acquired Ladbrokes Coral in March for £4bn. The deal was approved by the Competition and Markets Authority despite concerns the merger would lead to a substantial lessening of competition in the UK gambling market.

In July, MGM and GVC announced a joint venture to launch online and land-based sports betting in up to 15 states. Shortly after this deal, GVC's share price hit a record high of 1,170GBX. 

The operator also acquired Australia’s Neds International in 2018, with the fee potentially rising to AUS$95m.

GVC posted an £18.9m pre-tax loss, an improvement on last year’s figure of £22.6m.

The group reports growth of 19% NGR in online, with market share gains in key territories.

The operator’s UK retail dropped 3%, in line with expectations, while European retail increased NGR by 16%.

In the current trading period, GVC reports group NGR at an 11% increase, with online NGR rising by 22%.

Kenny Alexander, GVC CEO said: “2018 was a transformational year for the group, with the completion of the Ladbrokes Coral acquisition in March making the group the largest online-led sports betting and gaming operator in the world.

“ Excellent operational execution, effective marketing and a good World Cup helped both the legacy GVC and the acquired Ladbrokes Coral businesses perform ahead of expectations and materially ahead of the market, delivering market share gains in all our major territories.” 

GVC also confimred plans to move its online gambling platform servers to the Republic of Ireland, and it will use Malta gambling licenses for its brands that offer services to EU customers, although the online businesses will continue to be headquartered in Gibraltar.

Alexander will be speaking exclusively to Gambling Insider about the results later today.