Fortuna Entertainment Group, the leading Central European fixed-odds betting operator, reports that its Amounts Staked for the first half of 2013 was EUR 275.9 million, an increase of 20.4% compared to the same period of last year. The Group’s first-half EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) increased to EUR 12.9 million, marking a 27.4% increase year on year.

The Amounts Staked was mainly impacted by the rapidly growing segment of online betting via the Internet and mobile devices on all the Group’s markets. The Amounts Staked increased even though there was no major football tournament comparable to last year’s EURO 2012 held in Poland and Ukraine.

·        Net Profit increased to EUR 7.6 million (+34.5%)

·        EBITDA increased to EUR 12.9 million (+27.4%)

·        Amounts Staked increased to EUR 275.9 million (+20.4%)

·        The number of active registered clients increased by 27% year on year

“The excellent results achieved by the Fortuna Group in the first half of the current year are demonstrated by the strong double digit growth in all key indicators. Amounts Staked increased year on year by 20.4% to EUR 275.9 million, Group EBITDA reached EUR 12.9 million, which translates into an increase of 27.4%, while Group Net Profit for the first half of the year increased by 34.5% compared to the same period of the previous year to EUR 7.6 million,” said Radim Haluza, CEO and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Fortuna Entertainment Group. “We are especially delighted by the growth seen in registered customer numbers. Thanks to this gain, we have succeeded in maintaining a trend set in the previous year, despite the lack of a major football tournament. We expect the potential of the FIFA World Cup and the Sochi Winter Olympics to accelerate growth further next year,” Radim Haluza added.

Amounts Staked in the sports betting segment amounted to EUR 268.4 million in the first half of 2013, an increase of 22.5% compared to the same period of 2012. The Group recorded the most significant rates of growth in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

In the first half of 2013, the Gross Win (the difference between the amounts staked and total winnings) amounted to EUR 57.4 million, representing an increase of 4.1% compared to the first half of 2012. The Gross Win from online betting increased in the reporting period to EUR 24.3 million, an increase of 37.0%. Significant growth in online betting was seen in all of the Group’s markets. The Gross Win from betting shops amounted to EUR 29.4 million in the first half of 2013, a decrease of 9.3% compared to the same period of the previous year. A decrease of Amounts Staked in shops was recorded in the Czech Republic and Poland, while in Slovakia the Gross Win from betting in shops remained unchanged year on year.

Fortuna Group’s EBITDA reached EUR 12.9 million, an increase of 27.4% against the first half of 2012, mainly due to minimised losses in the lottery business. Of this sum, EBITDA from sports betting was EUR 13.2 million, after edging up year on year by 0.3%. EBITDA in the lottery segment was a negligible loss of EUR 0.3 million, compared to the loss of EUR 3 million seen in the same period of last year. The result was fully in accordance with the Group’s plan for 2013.

Group Net Profit increased in the first half of the year by 34.5% to EUR 7.6 million, mainly thanks to good operating results and rigorous cost management.