L&G revenues down

16.04.2008

London listed Leisure & Gaming plc has released current results, revealing that its first-quarter gross profit declined to Euro 2.1 million euros from Euro 2.5 million a year ago, but adding that trading in the period was in line with expectations.

In a trading statement, the betting and gaming group said results were below the comparative period in 2007, which benefited from exceptional sports results and was based on a larger estate of shops.

"Having restructured the operations of the company, we are confident that we can deliver sustainable profitability going forward," Chief Executive Henry Birch said. "Furthermore, we believe that as and when the Italian regulator allows for gaming products such as casino, poker and bingo, this profitability will substantially increase."

The betting group announced a drop in net win revenues of Euro 6.5 million for the first quarter of 2008 compared with Euro 8.7 million for the equivalent period in 2007.

Extensive restructuring has involved LNG’s main subsidiary Betshop Italia, and the removal of underperforming outlets from the Betshop network and a new operations centre in Italy. The company remains focused on growing its operations in Greece, Cyprus and Romania and has signed an agreement with a local marketing partner to promote Betshop.com in Greece.

Birch said: "Having restructured the operations of the company, we are confident that we can deliver sustainable profitability going forward."