Published on 4th March 2016 by Becky Mosley

On Thursday morning, Gala Coral announced a 41% increase in online net revenues as well as a 55% leap in EBITDA in Q1. The announcement comes after months of favourable football results and double-digit growth throughout most sections of the business.

Healthy Revenue Growth

The total net revenue for sixteen weeks ending on January 16 was £91.9 million according to the report, in comparison to £64.5 million last year. EBITDA also grew from £11.9 million last year to £18.5 million.Coral.co.uk, their main brand, reported a 69% increase in net revenues at £47.6 million after a 173% increase in sports net revenue, which totaled £19.4 million. Apparently, this is due to a 50% rise in stakes and a 39% in first time depositors.Over 40% of Coral.co.uk net revenues came from multi-channel Coral Connect customers throughout the period in question, all of who received low CPA rates.

Gaming Is Strongest Component

Regardless, gaming continues to be the operator’s strongest component, contributing £28.2 million worth of net revenue – 59% of the brands total revenue. Gaming activities had increased by 45% throughout the sixteen weeks, whilst mobile activity accounted for 71% of gaming stakes.Meanwhile, the Gala-branded websites also increased their revenue, though slightly less so than Coral sites. Their revenues increased by 11% to £29 million, driven by a 17% increase at Galabingo.com with net revenues of £25.8 million. Growth in the site is due to improvements made to its VIP campaign, according to Coral, in addition to the ‘Play Happy’ TV push. For the first time ever, Gala Bingo’s mobile platform dominated, accounting for 56% of total stakes, an 11% increase since last year.Even Gala Coral’s Italian brand Eurobet.it grew stronger, leaping by 42% to £14.5 million. Plus, their sports net revenue increased by 95% to £7.4 million.

Coral Connect Card

Gala Coral Group CEO Carl Leaver was quick to make the connection between the operators Coral Connect card to their success.“Online growth was strong driven by CRM-led reductions in churn and high levels of customer acquisition at market leading costs-per-acquisition,” Leaver said. “Multichannel continues to play a key role in driving both customer acquisition and retention as customers embrace the unique features of our Connect offering.”Leaver also commented on the company’s possible merger with Ladbrokes.“Timescales are in-line with our expectations, with the next key milestone being the CMA’s announcement of its provisional findings, and if required, proposed remedies, in mid-to-late April,” Leaver stated.“In the meantime our teams remain firmly focused on the execution of our strategy. We are confident that we are very well placed for the year ahead.”