Playtech FY09: Will Hill JV gross income up 23%
Playtech has released a full-year 2009 (FY09) trading update showing moderate revenue growth but an increase of almost a quarter in gross income from the its joint venture with William Hill Online formed in 2008...
Playtech has released a full-year 2009 (FY09) trading update showing moderate revenue growth but an increase of almost a quarter in gross income from its joint venture with William Hill Online formed in 2008.
The software business reported FY09 revenue of 114.8m ($161.8m, £100.3m), representing year-on-year (YoY) growth of 3%, with a 3% drop off in casino revenue offset by a 12% increase in poker.
A lower William Hill revenue share was, however, offset by the higher William Hill Online (WHO) gross income, with WHO delivering 22.5m of gross income to give a YoY group gross income up by 23% to 137.3m, from 111.5m in 2008.
This marks an overall recovery from the third quarter, when the Playtech-William Hill Online (WHO) joint venture was hit by unusual sports results which affected sports betting margins, in particular by a low number of football match draws, and saw gross income dip 4% below the previous quarter figure of 33.1m.
The fourth quarter also saw growth, Playtech chief executive Mor Weizer said: “The fourth quarter was a solid quarter with strong increases in all business areas. This strong performance has continued in the first three weeks of the year. The Board is very comfortable with market expectations for the year ended 31 December 2009 and looks forward to 2010 with confidence as another significant year of development.”
Highlights during the period include a deal to supply Betfair with a casino product signed in June, a five-year tie with Netplay to move the TV gaming company’s products to the Playtech platform signed the next month and a deal with the Serbian lottery to supply online casino and poker.
In pursuit of further state lottery contracts, Playtech signed a joint venture with US lottery giant Scientific Games to target state lottery operators last week, after becoming an associate member of the World Lottery Association in November, a professional association for state lottery and gaming organisations.
For more on Playtech’s landmark deal with Scientific Games, read Friday’s Need to Know blog post here.