Jaxx Starts 2009 With Cautious Optimism

Despite beginning the week by announcing that it had written down €15 million in investments in its domestic operations due to the implementation of the German State Treaty On Gaming, lottery service provider Jaxx AG is remaining optimistic.

The Altenholz-based firm has announced that, despite the deterioration of the domestic market, it is continuing to post steep international growth thanks in large part to its prompt expansion into other European nations. It stated that over 90 percent of its total revenues last year originated from its international activities.

It reported that consolidated revenues increased 67 percent year-on-year to reach €123.5 million with the lion's share coming from sportsbetting, which rose 73 percent to generate €73.9 million over 2008. Revenues from horse betting also climbed 1.1 percent to bring in €25.8 million, predominantly as a result of the first-time consolidation of pferdewetten.de AG. Jaxx revealed that only its lottery activities saw a decrease in revenues as these were down 18 percent to €23.8 million.

“We have been forging ahead with expansion into new markets in order to make Jaxx independent of the German lottery market, mired as it is in red tape, and we can now claim to have achieved that goal,” said Mathias Dahms, the man who founded Jaxx in 1998.

Jaxx announced that it expects double-digit revenue growth throughout 2009 driven by its betting segments. While its investments MyBet.com, DigiDis and pferdewetten.de should be able to boost the firm’s profitability over the next twelve months, Jaxx reported that the successful performance of its remaining concerns depends on how successful these will be at dealing with the loss of the online lottery agency business in Germany.

“The first few weeks of the 2009 financial year have made a positive impression,” said Stefan Hanel, Finance Director for Jaxx.

“But nobody can say at present how far the economic and financial crisis will affect our further development. It is not currently possible to make any meaningful statements on how the financial performance, net worth and financial position will develop over the next two financial years.”