JPJ offloads declining social gaming business
Jackpotjoy Slots Community brand sold for £18.1m as wider group revenues climb 10%
JPJ Group has offloaded its social gaming business to an unnamed seller for £18.1m after the division began to drag on group revenues this year.
Social gaming revenue from the Jackpotjoy Slots Community brand dropped 32% to £5.7m in H1, and dragged overall group revenues from +12% to +10%.
The £18.1m sale figure equates to 5x EBITDA and will be paid in cash.
“Post-completion, the Group will be exclusively focussed on its core activity of real money gaming and the disposal will represent another positive step in reducing net leverage,” JPJ said this morning.
It was a more positive story across the rest of the business, as total gaming revenues climbed 10% to £161m.
Growth was driven by Vera&John (28% of group revenue), which saw revenues climb 34%cc.
The core Jackpotjoy brand (72% of group revenues) was up 2% year-on-year and was impacted by the social gaming issues and the introduction of POC2 on gross gaming revenue in the UK in Q4 2017.
Group EBITDA was down 4% to £56.9m as previously guided thanks to increased marketing in the UK and Spain.
“The first half of the year has seen a continuation of the strong momentum that JPJ Group plc has reported since listing in the UK in January 2017,” said executive chairman Neil Goulden.
“[Performance] was driven by good growth across our global footprint, in particular in Spain and a number of relatively new markets.
“As expected, Adjusted EBITDA was down 4% year-on-year, but is expected to return to growth in the second half of the year following the conclusion of the TV advertising campaigns and as we pass the anniversary of the introduction of the POC2 on gross gaming revenue in the UK.”
JPJ shares were down 5% in early trading.