Ladbrokes said it remains committed to its digital strategy of building a more competitive offer after reporting a decline in digital profits for the first half of the year.
In its interim results for the half year ended June 30, 2012, the group posted digital profits of £15m, compared to £29.7m for the same period last year. Chief executive Richard Glynn commented that the decline was greater than expected “due largely to a weak sportsbook margin in Q2 and exacerbated by delays in technology.”
He continued: “We remain committed to our digital strategy of building a more competitive offer through a combination of ongoing investments to enhance our marketing, product and technology.” The group revealed at the end of June that it was anticipating a loss in profits for its digital business.
The delivery of several key technology developments is the group’s focus in H2 and during Q4, Ladbrokes will deliver its new sportsbook, followed by its new mobile platform, which is reliant on the same technology.
Glynn added: “During H2 we will also extend the use of recent enhancements in our trading systems to cover further core sporting products. We remain confident that a combination of these developments, together with continued improvements to CRM throughout 2013, will allow us to grow our digital business significantly.”
At group level Ladbrokes has performed strongly for the first half of 2012, reporting an increase in net revenue of 8.4 per cent to £529m and group operating profit of £106.9m, which is an 11 per cent increase on the same period last year.
There is continued growth in bet in-play, with stakes now 58 per cent of total digital sportsbook amounts staked, as well as more than 110,000 new sportsbook customers and over 65,000 new casino customers year on year reported.
Although “mindful of the challenging economic backdrop”, Glynn added that the group is “comfortable that performance is in line with the board’s expectations for the full year.”
