Sportingbet (SBT) trading statement 8/5/08: staff cuts ahead
Sportingbet.com(SBT) released a trading statement yesterday.
Sportingbet is one of the best known European online betting companies and is quoted on AIM. It is one of the sites that this blog supports and uses (see side banners). Sportingbet.com pride themselves on giving punters the best odds and a wide selection of bets which they certainly do.
It is no surprise therefore they they have issued an upbeat trading statement. What is more impressive however is the managements desire and ability to cut jobs to improve profitability. Internet gaming is scalable and after a company is well positioned it is probably correct to cut some of the high salaries but usually difficult to implement. Sportingbet.com are to be congratulated.
Q3 Trading Update [ADVFN]
Sportingbet Plc will, on 4 June 2008, announce its third quarter results for the
three months ending on 30 April 2008. The results for the period will report an
operating profit (before exceptional items, fair value adjustment and
amortisation) of not less than #7.0m (2007: #3.0m). This equates to an operating
profit for the nine months year to date of #18.7m (2007: #6.4m from continuing
operations). The Board is pleased with the trading results of the business
through both the third quarter and year to date, in particular, with the Group's
core sports betting business.
Following a successful period of "bedding-in" of the Group's operational moves
to Guernsey and Dublin, the Board has now entered the last phase of its proposed
strategic downsizing exercise, concentrating on its PLC head office function in
London.
As such, it is currently proposed that a number of redundancies may occur in the
head office function. This proposal will be the subject of consultation with
potentially affected staff over the coming weeks.
As part of a senior management review connected to this exercise, it has been
decided that there is no longer a requirement for a Chief Operating Officer
within the senior executive structure, and that the role will therefore become
redundant. The duties associated with the role will be absorbed by the remaining
senior executives of the Company and the role will not be replaced.
Consequently, it has been agreed that Dave Hobday, Chief Operating Officer, will
leave Sportingbet Plc shortly on a date to be agreed, and at the Company's
request, Dave Hobday has resigned from the Board with immediate effect.
An impressive statement all round. I still think that Sportingbet.com
These are examples are sportingbet brands. The poker brand was one of the big boys before the US regulations that slaughtered SBT's share price. There is a slow and steady recovery underway.
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