Retail still important to Tabcorp chief

Tabcorp chief executive David Attenborough has insisted the Australian operator will not turn its back on retail despite a clear shift towards digital being underlined in the company’s full-year results.

Tabcorp, which completed its Aus$11bn (€7.1bn/US$8.3bn) merger with Tatts in December, posted net profit of Aus$28.7m in the 12 months through to June 30, 2018, up from a $20.8m loss the previous year, with revenue rocketing by 71.4% to $3.829bn.

Tabcorp's online revenue increased by 16.3% while retail sales fell by 3.3%, but Attenborough said: “We do not see a development where you end up with digital without retail. It's really at the heart of the of a lot of Australian communities – their local pub and club.

“Our whole long-term strategies are about the integration of digital with the retail environment and we continue to see that play out. So, we share the margins on digital back with the retailers.”

Tabcorp’s results were impacted by merger integration costs and a $91m loss associated with the closure of its Sun Bets venture in the UK.

As a result of the merger, Tabcorp plans to phase out the UBET brand and replace it with the TAB brand in late 2018 in Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, according to Attenborough.

The Fifa World Cup helped to increase active customers for TAB and UBET by 8% to 720,000, the chief executive added.

The financial results were marginally below analysts’ expectations, but Tabcorp’s share price on the Australian Stock Exchange increased by just over 7.5% following the publication of the results today (Wednesday).