Bet-at-home announces revenue growth despite Austrian tax charge

Bet-at-home AG has announced that it bolstered its commercial status and its revenue, in spite of the €11.5 million Austrian tax burden that was imposed on it. The Frankfurt Xetra-listed operator published its Q3 2019 trading statement and reported a 2.5% year-to-date increase in its betting and gaming revenues, which amount to €107 million.

It also highlighted the fact that it was able to maintain its year-to-date betting capacity at €2.4 billion, although it had to compete against some very tough 2018 comparatives that featured the FIFA 2018 World Cup trading.

The well-known bookmaker stressed that its product portfolio has been developed due to the advertising campaigns generated by its ‘core market’ (which consists of  Germany and Poland), that boosted player activity. It is also worth noting that despite this increased advertising activity, Bet-at-home has managed to maintain its year-on-year marketing expenses at €29 million; which helped it increase its local player base to 5.2 million.

During the Q3 2019 trading period, Bet-at-home launched its latest advertising campaigns that helped it post a 13% YTD EBITDA boost to €27 million. After closing Q3 trading, its administration declared a YTD EBIT tracking at €25.6 million.

Despite the €11.5 million ‘Austrian subsidiary’ tax claim that its administration had to pay and led the company to impute €19.5 million to income taxes and eventually declare YTD profits of €5.8 million; it managed to achieve a top line performance.

It is also worth mentioning that Bet-at-home’s administration sustains its guidance generating revenues for 2019 between €130 to €143 million, together with an EBITDA target of €29-33 million.

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Bet-at-home is a well-established bookmaker, with a vast presence in Central Europe since 1999. The acquisition of the brand from the Betclic group brought the opening to the UK market and now it has a strong footprint on the most strategic regulated markets. That doesn’t mean of course that we are in awe with the Austrian sportsbook. The site is a little bit outdated, but at least the mobile apps are functional. I find the odds on the top leagues just likable, they are better than Bwin’s, but worse than Bet365’s. The extra features (Multiway bet, 1-click bet) give the players a better betting experience and the fact you can try out the sportsbook before you register is innovative. On the downsides, the low overall payout compared to the competition, the fees on withdrawals and the 10-second bet acceptance on live betting, make me have second thoughts. Bet-at-home is a mediocre second rate sportsbook that hasn’t improved a lot throughout the years. However, it is classified as a stable and safe bookmaker to place your bets.