Online sports betting play Sportingbet conjured up a £1.4m pre-goodwill operating profit (£200,000 loss) in the first quarter to end-June - the quietest quarter of its financial year. Investors were also treated to signs of margin improvement. Gross profits lifted to £13.3m (£3.8m), or 5.4% (3.4%) of turnover, which rocketed from £111.5m to £248.1m. Pre-tax losses were wider at £1.5m (£1m), after finance costs and a higher goodwill charge of £2.42m (562,000). Upbeat chairman Peter Dicks said: 'Due to the seasonality of the sporting calendar, this is the quietest quarter of our financial year to March. It is therefore gratifying to see operating profit of £1.4m, a successful start to the new financial year, and a first three months in line with expectations.' Customer numbers rose organically by 49,624 to 608,211, with the World Cup contributing 11,000 new punters. Recent acquisition Sporting Odds, the former fixed odds business of spread-betting firm Sporting Index, has brought in an additional 68,000. In the year to March the company made £5m pre-tax (£4.2m loss) on turnover of £991.5m.