Pari Mutuel Urbain boosted by first revenue rise since 2011

Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU), the French betting operator has reported a subsequent growth in the annual revenue for the first time in five years.

As per the figures released this week by the company the provisional operating revenue was found to be €9.92bn ($12.09bn) in 2017, which emphasises a rise of 2% the preceding year.

PMU is accountable for around 80% of wagering on horseracing in France, and in 2017 the company saw a domestic turnover of 0.9% consecutively on climb racing while its international counterpart reported an increase of 10%.

Though the operator suffered a subsequent drop in sports turnover, owing to a dearth of a major national team football tournament in 2017, however, this is anticipated to improve this year with the 2018 FIFA World Cup to be held in Russia.

Alain Resplandy-Bernard, who is currently serving as Interim Chief of PMU after Xavier Hurstel stood down as Director last November, praised the performance of the company in the past year, paying tribute to its strategic plan.

“The implementation of the PMU’s strategic plan is beginning to bear results and in 2017 the PMU returned to the path of growth,” states Resplandy-Bernard in the Racing Post.

He added: “Our objective in 2018 is to continue growth across all sectors of the business and to permanently cross back over the threshold of €800 million in net profit [returned to racing and trotting]. I know the teams across the PMU are ready to meet this challenge and to ensure sustainable growth for the business to the benefit of horseracing’s finances.”