Leading American online horserace wagering operator has revealed a two percent year-on-year rise in revenues for 2009 to $111.4 million.
Monday 29th March 2010
Ahead of its planned merger with rival Churchill Downs Incorporated, leading American online horserace wagering operator YouBet.com Incorporated has released its financial results for 2009 showing a two percent year-on-year increase in total revenues to $111.4 million.
Revenues from the California firm’s YouBet Express service increased six-percent from 2008 to $90.7 million based on handle of $480.3 million, which was ten percent higher than the previous year.
However, YouBet.com stated that contract revenues and equipment sales at its United Tote subsidiary for 2009 declined by eleven percent year-on-year to $21.7 million largely due to processing reduced handle as a result of track closures and a ‘general industry decline in wagering’.
In addition, full-year gross profits declined nine percent year-on-year to $37.6 million due to an increase in track fees and player incentives for YouBet Express alongside a decline in revenues and the relatively flat cost structure for United Tote.
For the full year, YouBet.com reported net income from continuing operations including YouBet Express and United Tote of $11.6 million compared to a loss of $5.8 million in 2008.
Last year’s results included an $8.1 million income tax benefit due to a reduction in the company’s valuation allowance against its deferred tax assets while 2008’s figure included an impairment charge of $11.2 million. Excluding these items, net income from continuing operations for 2009 would have been $3.5 million while 2008’s figure would have hit $5.4 million.
“We are pleased with our fourth quarter results given the strong economic headwinds facing the overall horseracing and parimutuel industry,” said David Goldberg, President and Chief Executive Officer for YouBet.com.
“In the fourth quarter, the number of weekly unique wagerers increased seven percent, however, due to economic pressures, the average handle per unique weekly wagerer decreased seven percent versus the prior-year quarter.
“Looking at the full-year 2009, we increased YouBet Express’ handle by ten percent while the industry declined approximately ten percent, all the while improving many key features on our best-in-class wagering platform. We added new players and significantly increased the number of active wagerers playing on the YouBet Express system by 15 percent year-on-year. We believe that the increase in players on the system is a positive leading indicator, which positions the company well as the economy begins to turn around.”
