Betfair enjoys surge in profits as customer base grows by half
Betfair Group enjoyed a surge in profits following a 52 per cent increase in its active customer base in 2015, leading to its chief executive saying the company is "well positioned for further growth".
The figures
Betfair's revenue for 2015 was up 21 per cent on 2014 – standing at £476.5m.
This led to profits of £94.3m in the financial year 2014/15, up 53 per cent on the year before. Profit before tax stood at £101.2m – up from £61.1m in 2013/14.
The company enjoyed significant growth of 52 per cent in its active customer numbers, which rose to 1.7m in 2015. Following increased marketing investment, customer acquisition was up 65 per cent.
Boosted by the World Cup at the start of the year, the company was able to "gain trading momentum" to reach record customer numbers and betting volumes at the Cheltenham Festival and Grand National meeting.
What Corcoran said
Chief executive Breon Corcoran said:
FY15 has been an excellent year for Betfair. We are successfully executing our strategy and achieving profitable scale in sustainable markets. Our investments are working, the business now operates at pace and our people have a strong will to win.
Product is a key reason why customers join and stay with Betfair. Important product improvements, including the extension of Price Rush to each way bets and Cash Out to in-running horseracing, helped to drive a strong performance during these key racing festivals.
Betfair is well positioned for further growth and we look forward to building on these results in FY16.
In brief
Betfair has released a buoyant full-year statement as the betting company enjoyed a good year. It was boosted by high-profile sporting competitions in 2014, which were followed by the General Election, another popular event on which people liked to bet.