Swedish online gambling operator Mr Green doubled its earnings in 2017 following a year of acquisitions, new product rollouts and belt-tightening.
Late last week, Mr Green announced that its revenue rose more than one-quarter to SEK333m (US $41.3m) in the three months ending December 31, 2017, while earnings improved 52% to SEK48.4m. Active customer ranks shot up 25.6% to nearly 143k while customer deposits were up one-fifth to SEK983m, both all-time highs.
The picture was even brighter on the full year front, with revenue up nearly 29% to just under SEK1.2b, while earnings shot up 103% to SEK185.6m.
The company credited the revenue gains to a broader product offering – new sportsbook, addition of keno and bingo, enhanced live casino – while the profitability boost was attributed to tighter cost controls, improved marketing efficiency and personalized customer communication.
The year saw Mr Green enter the Danish market via the acquisition of Dansk Underholdning, and the addition of this Danish revenue stream gave the Q4 revenue total a 2.1% boost. Mr Green says Q1 trading to date in its Danish operations is off to a “strong start.”
Mr Green continues to lessen its dependence on Nordic markets, which, while growing 16.1% year-on-year, accounted for only 31% of Q4’s overall revenue. Western markets shot up 56.2% year-on-year, claiming a 44% slice of the overall pie. The Central, Eastern and Southern Europe segment’s share was essentially flat at 23% while the rest of the world chipped in the final 2%.
While Q4’s marketing costs were up 20% year-on-year due to new product launches, marketing as a percentage of revenue fell 2.5 points to 33.9%. Personnel costs as a percentage of revenue were also down 2.1 points to 12%.
Mr Green expects great things in 2018 from its new Live Beyond Live casino product, which made its debut at last week’s ICE Totally Gaming shindig. The product, which was developed in partnership with gaming technology outfit NetEnt, offers a “fully immersive 3-D live casino experience.” The product is currently only available on mobile devices but a desktop product is coming in Q2.
Mr Green’s late-2017 acquisition of Evoke Gaming will see Evoke’s flagship Redbet brand introduced in Mr Green’s existing markets and Evoke’s product offering will get a boost from Mr Green’s portfolio. The acquisition is expected to turn a profit this year and add to Mr Green’s earnings and cash flow in 2019.
