Group revenue for 2023 amounted to €46.2m, down from €53.5m in the previous year. Bet-at-home flagged several developments, both within the business and the wider market, as the main reasons for this decline.
Core causes include cross-product and cross-provider monthly wagering limits in Germany, introduced in mid-2022. The operator also noted a regulatory obligation to report increased deposit limits from the Q2 of 2023.
It was also impacted by the migration of customers from its own .com and .de platforms to the new system of EveryMatrix. Bet-at-home outsourced its German-licensed .de offering to EveryMatrix in February 2023, with the process completing in October.
The drop in group revenue had a knock-on effect on net gaming revenue. Both betting fees and gaming levies and VAT were lower year-on-year. Net gaming revenue was also down by 14.1% to €36.1m.
Bet-at-home eyes “lean and cost-efficient” structure
While the drop in revenue is a disappointment, Bet-at-home says it was expected given the developments in 2023.
The confirmed revenue figure is also in line with restated guidance in October. Originally, the group set a revenue target of €50.0m for the year, but this was lowered to between €44.0m and €48.0m. The actual €46.2m total is at the midpoint of this range.
However, accompanying a reduction in revenue was a drop in spending across several areas. Advertising expenses increased 25.0% to €17.0m but personnel costs were down 35.6% and other operating spend fell 22.2%. This, Bet-at-home says, was partly due to the outsourcing and forms part of its long-term strategic plans to become a leaner business.
“The reduction in internal complexity and resource requirements associated with the increased outsourcing has resulted in lower IT costs and positively impacted the group’s financial performance,” Bet-at-home said.
“This strategic reorientation will continue to form the basis for a lean and cost-efficient organisational structure in the future.”
Amortisation and depreciation was also 27.3% lower at €1.6m while finance costs were only up marginally to €595,000. This resulted in a pre-tax loss of €1.4m, which is around double the €690,000 loss posted in 2022.
Bet-at-home paid €74,000 in tax, leaving a €1.5m net loss for the year from its continuing operations, in contrast to an €11.9m profit in 2022. However, it was noted that the 2022 figures included €11.3m from discontinued operations, without which profit would have stood at just €551,000.
As for EBITDA for the full year, this dropped 61.7% to €807,000.
Mixed outlook for 2024
Casting an eye towards 2024 and its expectations for the year, Bet-at-home said a strategic transformation of the group will continue.
The group committed to continuous investment in the internal data platform and spoke of a focus of in-house development. It also plans to work with EveryMatrix on its online casino and sports betting products.
As for expansion plans, Bet-at-home intends to use widespread awareness of its brand in its core Germany and Austria markets to improve its market position. This will include targeted marketing measures, with a focus on this summer’s Uefa Euro 2024, which takes place in Germany.
With expectations high as to the impact of the tournament, Bet-at-home is confident of some growth in 2024. It has forecast gross revenue of between €45.0m and €53.0m, with EBITDA set to range from a loss of €1.0m to a positive of €2.5m.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/finance/full-year-results/revenue-decline-leads-to-net-loss-for-bet-at-home-in-2023/
