The increased revenue came from wagers of £8.81bn, a 25.8% increase over 2021.
It is worth noting that the amount wagered by Betfred customers during the period was still below the levels seen in its last pre-pandemic report in 2019 (£10.1bn).
The company declared gross profit of £542.9m, up 38.8%, and EBITDA of £67.8m, up 45.9%. Operating profit came in at £36.8m, an increase of 38.2%.
Profit before tax totalled £37.8m, up from just £6.1m in the prior year. After £18.2m in taxes, profit after tax was £19.6m, almost four times the £5.3m registered in 2021.
After accounting for other comprehensive income and losses, the business declared a comprehensive total income for the period of £16.1m, up from £4.9m.
UK retail network shrinks
Betfred said the increased metrics across the board were the result of the business continuing to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, which adversely affected results in 2020 and 2021.In particular, Betfred’s retail network of betting shops was hit hard by pandemic-related lockdown orders in the UK.
The number of shops operating in Betfred’s network as of the end of the reporting period (25 September 2022) was 1,419, or 51 fewer than the 1,470 which were operating at the end of the 2021 reporting period.
“Loss making shops are constantly reviewed and closed where the business feels necessary,” Betfred said.
International expansion
Meanwhile during the reporting period, Betfred expanded its North American presence by launching in a further three US states, with plans to go live in additional states in the future.
The operator is now live in a total of 10 US states: Ohio, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington.
During the reporting period, it also acquired two South African betting businesses, Sepels Best Bets Proprietary Ltd and Sepels Sportsbet Gauteng Proprietary Ltd.
Following the end of the period, Betfred also acquired 51% of the share capital of South African online gambling business Lottostar (Pty) Ltd.
