The parent company of Littlewoods BetDirect and Zetters Pools announced the results for the six months ended June 30, which showed a turnover of £254.3m, in line with the year before, while profit before tax fell 53% to £2.7m.
Poor sports results and a 15% decline in Football Pools revenue offset a 3% revenue growth in the Betting division and the benefit of the cost savings resulted from the restructuring of the business.
The company, which added branded casino, poker and mobile sportsbook to its BetDirect offering and expanded the sports betting markets offered on interactive television, is now well positioned to realize the potential of its multi channel capabilities. However, based on the trading performance since the beginning of July, Sportech expects profits before tax in H2 2005 to be similar to that of the first half.
Ian Penrose, formerly at Arena Leisure, has been appointed as Chief Executive.
“With cost savings starting to take effect, Ian will drive the development of the new media offering through content and promotion, as well as take on the negotiation of a new contract with ITV on our interactive betting service,” said Roger Withers, the company\’s Acting Managing Director.
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