Betway owner Super Group reported a year-on-year increase in revenue and net profit for its 2021 financial year, despite the impact of new regulations in certain European markets.
Revenue for the 12 months to 31 December 2021 amounted to €1.32bn (£1.10bn/$1.44bn), up 45.4% from €908.0m in the group’s previous financial year and in line with forecasts published in January.
Super Group said that it experienced year-on-year revenue growth across all areas of its business, with online casino remaining its primary source of revenue.
Online casino revenue was up 25.7% to €858.7m, with the majority of this coming from the Spin multi-brand online casino. Spin generated €629.9m in online casino revenue, while the remaining €228.8m came from Betway.
Sports betting revenue also jumped 139.9% to €387.2m, with Betway contributing €385.4m and Spin €1.8m.
Brand and licensing revenue, all of which came from Betway, increased by 16.4% to €71.1m, while Super Group also noted €3.7m in other revenue for the year.
In terms of geographical performance, North America was Super Group’s core market in 2021, generating €593.7m in revenue, which represented 45% of all revenue for the year.
Asia and Pacific followed with €329.8m, or 25% of all revenue, then Africa and the Middle East on €217.4m (17%), Europe with €149.1m (11%) and South and Latin America on €30.8m (2%).
Last year proved to be an historic year for super Group when in April it entered a definitive agreement to merge with special purpose acquisition business Sports Entertainment Acquisition Corp. (SEAC) and expand its offering into the US market.
The merger completed shortly after the year-end in January after final approval from SEAC shareholders. Following completion, ordinary shares and public warrants in the combined business began trading under the ticker symbols ‘SGHC’ and ‘SGHC WS’, respectively.
Other highlights from 2021 included Super Group extending the Betway and Spin brands into nine new regulated markets such as France and Tanzania for Betway and Mexico for Spin. Three further markets have also been added so far in 2022, including Bulgaria.
Super Group also signed over 30 sponsorship agreements in 2021, with an additional nine agreements signed in 2022.
In addition, Super Group executed a binding, conditional agreement to acquire US-based Digital Gaming Corporation, As of April 13 this year, DGC is live in six US states with the Betway brand and has secured market access in up to 12 states.
Subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, the acquisition is expected to close in the second half of this year.
“We listed on the New York Stock Exchange at the start of 2022, a major landmark for Super Group after two decades of leadership in more than 20 markets around the world,” Super Group chief executive Neal Menashe said.
“We expanded on our partnerships throughout the year and our portfolio now stands in excess of 70 active deals in 17 different countries.”
Looking at costs, direct and marketing expenses were 46.3% higher at €896.5m, while general and administrative spend also increased by 30.9% year-on-year to €149.9m and depreciation and amortisation costs climbed 50.9% to €83.6m.
This meant that operating profit was 58.5% higher at €198.8m, while when excluding certain costs, adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was up 60.1% to €289.5m for the year.
Super Group noted €6.4m in finance expenses, but this was easily offset by €1.3m in finance income, €15.8m in gain on derivative contracts and a €16.3m gain on bargain purchase.
As a result, pre-tax profit hiked 51.0% from €149.6m to €225.9m, while after paying €10.0m in income tax and accounting for €816,000 in negative foreign currency translation, this left a net profit of €235.1m, up 58.0% year-on-year.
“We are delighted to report strong growth and profitability in 2021, demonstrating the successful execution of our global growth strategy,” Menashe said. “We are, as ever, grateful to our dedicated global team that have delivered this outstanding financial performance.
“With an eye on our growth and profitability profile, we couldn’t be more excited to execute on our plans in 2022 and beyond.”
Source: https://igamingbusiness.com/
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