Ladbrokes grows revenue in third quarter as it revs up for Gala Coral deal
Ladbrokes said today that revenue grew for the fourth consecutive quarter in the three months to 30 September.
The bookmaker reported a 12.1 per cent increase in group net revenue in the third quarter, and said it remains on track to meet full-year expectations.
The company announced the figures as it prepared to sell off 185 stores in order to meet conditions set by the Competition and Markets Authority ahead of its merger with Gala Coral. Ladbrokes and Gala announced plans for a £2.3bn tie-up last July.
"We've emerged from a busy summer of sport with more evidence that our strategy of appealing to the recreational customer is delivering growth and we remain confident of delivering full year results in line with our expectations," said Ladbrokes boss Jim Mullen.
"These results have been achieved by a group of colleagues whose commitment to delivering Ladbrokes' Plan A has been all the more impressive given the ongoing work towards completion of our merger with Coral.
"Following our agreement to sell 359 shops subject to CMA approval, we are close to completion of the deal and look forward to the opportunities it will bring to customers, colleagues and shareholders."
Shares in Ladbrokes were up 2.2 per cent in early trading.
The bookmaker is a "good bet", according to Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Nicholas Hyett.
"We’ve been a fan of Ladbrokes for some time, and the UK’s second largest bookmaker has so far proven a good bet," he said.
"Ladbrokes are scoring everywhere that William Hill is not, with robust growth online and success in Australia to boot. We have to take our hats off to Playtech here, since the gaming giant switched horses from William Hill to Ladbrokes we have seen a complete reversal of fortunes.
"There’s good news on the high street too. After more than a year of wrangling, the last major hurdle to the merger with Coral seems to have been cleared. True, the sale of the required 350+ shops came at a lower price than we had hoped – but realising the efficiencies from the deal should more than make up or that."