UK bookmaking giant Ladbrokes saw 2013 net income fall two-thirds to £67.6 million on a one-third decline in operating profits to £138.3 million.
The company reported lower performance across all verticals and attributed much of the blame to the online division, which reported profits of just £8.2 million compared with 2012’s £31.8 million.
The online woes were all the more stark considering the division’s revenue fell just 1.7 percent to £175 million, although the drop was 9.4 percent on a same-store basis, factoring out the acquisition of the Betdaq betting exchange and Australia’s Bookmaker.com.au portal.
Online sports betting revenue fell 5.3 percent to £73.7 million on a 13.1 percent decline in volume. However, the company said its new Mobenga-powered mobile sportsbook, which launched in December, is already paying dividends, with handle and sign-ups up 50 percent.
Online casino revenue fell 10 percent to £68.2 million; bingo fell 12.5 percent to £11.9 million; and poker plunged 31.2 percent to just £7.5 million. Telephone wagering suffered an operating loss of £1.6 million on a revenues that were down 31.6 percent to £6.5 million.
On the retail front in the UK, revenue was up 8.3 percent to £800.9 million, but operating profit fell 25.9 percent as over-the-counter betting suffered from the lack of a major football tournament. However, revenue from retail machine gaming rose 20.2 percent to £408.4 million. As of December 31, the company had 9,091 electronic table games, known as fixed-odds betting terminals, in operation, up from 8,583 at the end of 2012.
As of December 31, Ladbrokes had 2,297 betting shops in the country, an increase of 101 year on year.
