Annual Report and Accounts 2008 (pdf-file) - Unibet

28
Directors’ report
The Directors present their annual
report on the affairs of the Group,
together with the audited financial
statements and auditors’ report, for
the year ended 31 December 2008.
Principal activities
Unibet is an online gambling business, with over
3.1 million registered customers worldwide as
at 31 December 2008 and is one of the largest
privately-owned, publicly-quoted online
gambling operators in the European market.
The Internet is the main distribution channel
for Unibet’s products. The Group offers a
comprehensive range of online gambling
products, such as sports betting, live betting,
bingo, soft games, online casino and poker
products, through the Group’s primary website,
www.unibet.com. The customer base spans
more than 100 countries.
On average, Unibet handles over 500,000
transactions every day (including bets, deposits
and withdrawals) and has between 4,000-
5,000 offerings on major international and
local sporting events every day.
The principal subsidiaries and associated
undertakings which affect the results and net
assets of the Group in the year are listed in
Note 13 to the financial statements.
Results and dividends
The consolidated income statement is set out
on page 35 and shows the result for the year.
The profit after tax was GBP 8.8 (2007: GBP
18.7) million.
As part of the conditions for the Bond issue,
Unibet has undertaken not to distribute more
than 75 per cent of the Group’s net result
through dividend or share buy-back. The Board
of Directors proposes a dividend of GBP 0.23
per ordinary share/SDR, which is approximately
SEK 2.75 per ordinary share/SDR, to be paid to
holders of ordinary shares and SDRs (2007:
dividend of SEK 6.00/GBP 0.50 per ordinary
share paid in May 2008) and amounts to a total
of GBP 6.4 (14.0) million which is slightly less
than 75 per cent of net profit after tax.
Business review
Significant events during the year 2008
On 1 January 2008 the Maria Holdings
integration project started. Operational
integration was undertaken in the first quarter of
2008 but certain administrative aspects of the
integration of legal entities have taken longer.
an official request to Germany for information
on national legislation restricting the supply of
gambling services.
On 19 February 2008, Unibet Group plc
bond loan 1 was registered on NASDAQ OMX
Nordic Exchange in Stockholm’s Retail
Bond List.
On 28 February 2008, the EU Commission
issued a reasoned opinion against the
Netherlands and Greece for restriction of
free movement of gambling services. These
reasoned opinions are the second stage of the
infringement procedure laid down in Article
226 of the EC Treaty. If it determines that there
is no satisfactory reply within two months, the
Commission has the power to refer the matters
to the European Court of Justice.
On 25 April 2008 Unibet signed an agreement
to acquire 100 per cent of the issued share
capital of the Internet based sports media
company Guildhall Media Invest Limited, for
a cash consideration of EUR 150,000. Unibet
also took on responsibility for Guildhall’s
external debt of EUR 4.2 million.
On 19 September 2008, Unibet was for the
second time in three years awarded “European
sportsbetting operator of the Year 2008” at the
prestigious eGaming Annual Awards ceremony
organised by the international gaming
magazine eGaming Review. The award goes
to the operator that has made the biggest
impression in Europe and continued to grow
and broaden its product offerings.
On 14 October 2008, Unibet was certified
to be compliant with eCOGRA’s standards.
eCOGRA is a non-profit organisation, which
is the independent standards authority of the
online gaming industry, specifically overseeing
fair gaming, player protection and responsible
operator conduct.
Significant events after the year end
Between 1 January and 31 March 2009,
Unibet repurchased an additional
EUR 4.9 million of the bond.
The above developments during 2008 illustrate
the following trends that affect the business of
the Unibet Group:
Unibet Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2008
On 31 January 2008, the European
Commission announced that it had decided
to send an official request for information on
national legislation restricting the supply and
promotion of certain gambling services relating
to poker games and tournaments to Sweden.
In this new case the Commission wishes to
verify whether all national measures are
compatible with Article 49 of the EC Treaty,
which guarantees the free movement of
services. The European Commission also sent
Unibet continues to invest in the expansion
both of its products set in its core markets and
its geographical and demographical reach into
new markets.
Unibet is committed to the promotion of
responsible gaming and remains at the
forefront of industry initiatives in this area.
Unibet continues both to seek further
opportunities to cross-sell its products