Bet365 registers full-year revenue of £2.82bn, CEO sees pay cut for first time in three years

UK-based Bet365 was seemingly unphased by COVID in the year ending March 2021 as it registered a full-year revenue of £2.82bn (around €3.4bn), at par with the £2.81bn (around €3.39bn) it registered a year prior.

The company released its financial results on 3rd March 2022 when it filed to Companies House and commented that the suspension of sporting events from 2022 led to revenues being decimated in the first half of the year. It shot up to pre-pandemic levels once sporting events resumed during the second half of the year.

Indeed, gaming revenue carried the uncertain first half with an annual increase of eight per cent, reaching around £500m (around €604m) of the company’s full-year overall revenue.

Bet365 noted that the shift towards online gambling, and away from retail, impacted the business positively.

In addition, gross profit after direct cost of sales reached £2.33bn (around €2.82bn), down by 3.4 per cent from a year earlier. On a more positive note, administrative expenses were also down, at £2.04bn (around €2.47bn), compared to £2.21bn (around €2.67bn).

As a result, operating profits increased by almost half, at 46.6 per cent, from £870.6m (around €1.1bn) to £701.3m (around €847.6m). Here, Bet365 clarified that this was also driven by reducing its wage bill, with staff costs falling from £870.6m to £701.3m.

Indeed, making the headlines on several media, the company’s CEO, Denise Coates, saw her salary fall for the first time in three years, from £421m (€508.9) last year to £250m (€302m).

Bet365 also saw the number of active users increase in the year ending March 2021, by around 13 per cent, however the among wagered on sport also fell by 13 per cent.