20-11-2007 Major companies express interest for International All Sports

Barry Coulter, Chairman of International All Sports, owner of IASbet and Canbet, said at the company's general meeting that confidentiality agreements have been signed and that the board named a Sale Committee to seriously consider any genuine offer.

Coulter also said that 2007 was a testing year for IAS. After taking into account abnormal expenses for $10.9m, including a refund of $7 million to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and a $1.8 million write-off of the American business after the passing of the UIGEA, the company reported a loss before tax of $9.4m compared with a profit of $841,000 the prior year.

Although the overall bottom line result for 2007 was disappointing there were a number of positives, including a 31% increase in global turnover, which for the first time surpassed the $1 billion mark, and a 16% increase to $45.3m in operating revenue as a result of the continued introduction of new products and entry into new markets.

The total number of bets taken by IASbet increased by 38.6% to 7.42m, while the total number of bets taken by Canbet decreased by 31.3% to 1.37m as a direct result of the lost US business. Overall bets taken by the group increased by 19.6% to 8.79m.

The total number of customers who bet with IASbet increased by 25.5% to almost 19,000 customers. Again the lost US business impacted the Canbet result with the customer base reducing by 3.4% to 12,400. Overall the active customer base increased by 12.2% to 31,200.

Despite a reduction in Australian horse racing following the outbreak of equine influenza, IASbet continued to perform well into the new year, with earnings at the EBITDA level to November 11 of $6.7m, while Canbet continued to struggle attracting a disproportionate sharp professional clientele. The company announced that it will continue to fund organic growth on the European and Asian markets rather than making an expensive offshore acquisition.