Swedish online gambling operator Mr Green recorded its sixth straight quarter of higher than expected growth, with a particularly strong showing by its new live casino offering.
An interim report released Friday shows Mr Green generated revenue of SEK381m (US$43.9m) in the three months ending March 31, a 38% rise over the same period last year. Earnings grew 34% to SEK45.8m while net income was up 7% to SEK20.2m.
Mr Green CEO Per Norman credited the growth to “digitally driven customer communication” and an enhanced product offering, including the new Live Beyond Live live casino partnership with tech provider NetEnt. Norman said Mr Green’s Q1 live casino revenue was “higher than total revenue from NetEnt’s live product in 2017.”
Mr Green completed its acquisition of the primarily Nordic-facing Evoke Gaming business in early February, and Norman said “the speed of the integration process is exceeding our plan,” boosting the projected synergies from €2.5m-€3.5m to €4m. Evoke is expected to “recognize a positive result” for Mr Green in Q3.
Mobile’s share of Q1’s overall revenue increased 5.8 points to 56% in Q1. Customer deposits were up 30.7% year-on-year to SEK1.15b, while depositing customers improved 57.3% to 182,490, new depositing customers rose 75.6% to 80,691 and returning depositing customers grew 45.4% to 101,799.
Western European markets accounted for nearly half (SEK170m) of Q1’s revenue, up 58.7% year-on-year, with “robust” growth in all markets. Nordic market revenue was up nearly 30% to SEK121m thanks in part to the Mr Green brand’s Danish market launch last December.
The Central, Eastern and Southern Europe segment improved 19.3% to SEK83.4m, despite last year’s forced withdrawals from Poland and the Czech Republic. Mr Green’s overall share of revenue from regulated markets increased 2.4 points to 12.9% in Q1, while its total betting duties in these markets shot up 42% to SEK62m.
Norman said Mr Green is eagerly anticipating Sweden’s transition to a liberalized online gambling market, given that the country accounted for 16.5% of the company’s Q1 revenue total. The increasingly hostile climate of Norway (5% of Q1 revenue), had already convinced Mr Green to “reduce our exposure there over time.”
