Webis Holdings, the owner of the advance-deposit wagering operator Watchandwager.com, said it would consider pursuing M&As and new alliances to support future growth plans, with a core focus on B2C.
The business recently completed a comprehensive strategic review of its operations and key goals. This identified growing the B2C sector as Webis’s main aim, with a view to at least doubling player numbers within the next two years.
Webis said its executive team is also currently conducting a detailed strategic review of its B2C operations, with the idea of investing more in software development, marketing and related resource to grow this area faster.
“We have developed a detailed software and marketing plan to that end which has been approved by the board with detailed budgets until the end of 2024 which project this sector and indeed the whole operation to be profitable,” Webis non-executive chairman Denham Eke said.
“In conjunction with that, we have several aims to improve our licensed position in the US, especially in California and Arizona. We believe that it is vitally important for growth that we continue to ensure the highest levels of regulatory compliance as a company in the USA.
“A combination of growth in our core business as detailed above plus our unique presence in key states will greatly enhance the valuation of the business. Related to that, we continue to assess more strategic developments and have not ruled out alliances, mergers or acquisitions to fast-track our growth.”
Webis full-year results
Eke’s comments came on the back of Webis posting its full year results for the 12 months to 31 May 2022. Revenue for the year reached $53.6m, which was 3.8% lower than $55.7m in the corresponding period last year.
Breaking down this revenue performance, $51.2m was attributed to racetrack operations in North America, with $1.8m coming from advance-deposit wagering on the continent. Some $527,000 was generated by advance-deposit wagering in the British Isles, and just $27,000 from advance-deposit wagering in the Caribbean.
Cost of sales was 3.0% lower at $48.5m and betting duty was down 11.4% to $101,000, but Webis also reported a 5.7% increase in operational expenses to $ 5.6m.
After accounting for $324,000 in other income, which was partly offset by $126,000 worth of finance costs and other expenses, this left a pre-tax loss of $374,000, compared to an $824,000 profit at the same point in 2021.
Webis did not report any tax payments for the year, which means net loss for the 12 months also stood at $374,000, in contrast to the $824,000 net profit last year.