Gala Coral revenue up but losses widen

(ShareCast News) - Ladbrokes said on Wednesday that revenue at Gala Coral, with which it has agreed to merge, rose in the third quarter, but the bookmaker's loss widened due to exceptional costs.In the 12 weeks ended 2 July, net revenue at Gala Coral was up 10% from 2015 to £264m, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were 13% higher at £57.7m.Meanwhile, online EBITDA came in at £21.6m, up £4.5m, with online net revenue up 19% to £76.3m.However, exceptional costs of £26.2m meant Gala Coral reported a loss of £25.6m compared to a £20.5m loss last year.The company said current trading in the eight weeks post the quarter end has been positive, with continued machines growth in Coral Retail, sports stakes well ahead in Eurobet Retail and good volume growth in Online."Sports gross win margins are, however, behind last year's levels primarily due to poor horse racing results in the UK (especially in the week commencing 15th August) and as a result of very strong prior year comparators in Italy."