Gala Coral revenue up ahead of Ladbrokes merger

Gala Coral Group’s posted higher full year revenues and strong current trading ahead of the proposed merger with Ladbrokes.

The betting company released its full year results to 26 September 2015 on Monday.

It showed a 6% increase in net revenue to just over £1bn, despite 2014 figures including the impact of the FIFA World Cup.

The company’s online revenue drove overall growth, with online revenue up £65.2m to £247.8m.

However revenue from Coral Retail remained flat at £675.9m, and Eurobet Retail revenues dipped £6.2m to £77.3m.

Gross profit rose £14.1m to £699.5m for the full year, and EBITDA was up 1% to £205.3m despite significant regulatory headwinds.

Chief executive Carl Leaver said the group’s unique multi-channel capability in the UK and Italy continues to be a key driver of value.

“Connect customers are contributing over 40% of Coral.co.uk gross win, while in Italy, multichannel acquisition helped propel Eurobet.it to the number 2 position in the online sports market.”

Analysts at Shore Capital said its performance was consistent with our expectations for Coral ahead of the proposed merger and "demonstrates the momentum the group could bring to the enlarged group".

Trading since the results is also looking up, with Gala Coral Group reporting Coral Retail like-for-like stakes ahead by 2.3% and Eurobet Retail sports stakes 32.6% ahead on a constant currency basis.

Online growth was also strong, with Coral.co.uk sports stakes up by 57.6% and Eurobet.it sports stakes up by 89.9% on a constant currency basis

The results excluded results from Gala Retail, which was acquired by Caledonia Investments earlier this year.

The merger between Gala Coral Group and Ladbrokes is awaiting approval from the Competition and Markets Authority.