Nordic gambling operator Cherry AB’s online revenue in the first quarter of 2016 more than doubled from the same period last year.
For the three months ending March 31, Cherry’s overall revenue grew 86% to SEK 177.3m (US $21.5m) while the company reported positive earnings of SEK 26.5m compared to a loss of SEK 11.8m in the same period last year and an after-tax profit of SEK 17.5m.
Online revenue spiked 118% to SEK 127.3m. Online now accounts for 78% of overall revenue, up from 63% in the same quarter last year. The ranks of new online customers underwent a similar surge, topping 104k compared to less than 37k in Q1 2015.
The online gains reflect contributions from 2015’s lengthy list of acquisitions, which included the Game Lounge affiliate business, Almor’s German-facing brands, some Finnish affiliate domains and Malta-based Moorgate Media.
Cherry CEO Fredrik Burvall told eGR Magazine that the impressive online performance was a combination of the acquisitions and strong organic growth. CherryCasino added a sportsbook option, which Burvall says currently contributes “less than 5%” of revenue but Burvall hopes this figure will grow during this summer’s Euro 2016 football event.
Cherry’s B2B online software offshoot Yggdrasil Gaming reported revenue up 519% to SEK 14.2m. The gains reflect the company having gone live in the UK market with six operators, which helped boost the number of player transactions by an astounding 992% from the same period last year.
Yggdrasil CEO Fredrik Elmqvist said the company had signed a content supply deal with online giant Bet365 and promised more deals would be announced in the coming months. Elmqvist noted that the UK was an extremely competitive market but said early indications of Yggdrasil’s performance are encouraging.
Elmqvist said Yggdrasil expects to be granted its Gibraltar license sometime in Q2 and that the company continued to investigate its options in other regulated market. The company’s growth was reflected in its payroll, which rose to 65 staffers from just 45 in Q4.
