Finance Notes: Perform Group Sales Lifted By Euro 2012

Sports media company Perform Group posted a first-half pre-tax profit, after Euro 2012 "helped buoy licence fees and advertising sales," according to Mark Wembridge of the FINANCIAL TIMES. Perform, which buys the online rights to TV sports coverage and repackages it for bookmakers, news providers and consumers, has seen shares more than double over the past year, as more users "turned to watching sport on websites and mobile devices." The group operates web services, such as Goal.com, and is mainly focused on football, tennis and basketball (FINANCIAL TIMES, 8/30).

PLACE YOUR BETS: A strong performance from its online businesses helped online bookmaker Paddy Power to "healthy first-half profits." The Irish bookmaker has seen strong revenue growth across all its divisions so far this year due to "a rise in online betting and favourable sports results" in the first months of the year (FINANCIAL TIMES, 8/29).