Playtech growth boosted by Asia and mobile
Software provider posts strong H1 financials as company mulls further acquisitions
Playtech recorded 15% year-on-year revenue growth in H1 2013, driven by triple-digit growth in mobile and a substantial rise in Asian revenue.
Revenue increased to 176.8m for the six months ended 30 June, with revenues deriving from Asian markets now representing 24% of that figure, up 5% year-on-year.
Underlying non-adjusted EBITDA, excluding revenues from William Hill Online, grew by 13% to 78.9m and the firm said it would pay a dividend of 0.078 per share, at the same level as the previous year.
Revenues in Asia increased by 41%, dwarfing growth in Europe and the rest of the world, which grew 7% and 21% respectively, and Playtech said it was “actively pursuing” markets in both Europe and Asia that are either regulated or soon to be regulated.
The company’s mobile channel recorded growth of 150% year-on-year, contributing revenue of 13.8m. Playtech identified sport as the primary product on mobile, with its Mobenga mobile sports offering growing by 92% year-on-year.
Playtech said the mobile sector was still in its infancy, but underlined its potential as a “major platform for future growth”.
“As online gaming continues to focus on mobile, it is pleasing to see our investment in this increasingly important market paying-off across many product areas,” said departing non-executive chairman Roger Withers.
Sports betting witnessed the largest growth, revenue from the vertical increasing by 90% year-on-year to 9.1m on the back of a strong performance from its Mobenga mobile division, which provides mobile sportsbook software to the likes of William Hill and Paddy Power.
And the company indicated its Geneity and Mobenga platforms were well positioned to capitalise on the new football season while it is also in discussions with a number of additional licensees in various jurisdictions.
Casino remained the company’s principle earner, recording H1 revenues of 90.2m representing a year-on-year increase of 26%. Playtech launched a wealth of new IP titles and also witnessed Paddy Power migrate its live gaming activity to the Playtech platform during the period.
Bingo revenue increased 6% year-on-year to 9.3m, with the company citing the launch of Gala Bingo and introduction of mobile bingo in 2012 as growth drivers for the period. Bingo on mobile platforms now amounts for 7% of total bingo revenue, up from the 2% recorded in H1 2012.
Poker was the only vertical to post a decline, with revenue falling 17% year-on-year to 8m owing to an international poker market that Playtech considered “challenging”.
Playtech revealed its intention to improve its poker offering by integrating its new initiatives with its newly-acquired PokerStrategy business, with the intent of lowering player acquisition costs by increasing marketing efficiency.
It also pointed to an imminent launch of a mobile poker product with both native iOS and Android versions launching alongside an HTML5 mobile poker solution.
The company’s cash balance has also swollen to 576.2m, boosted by the recent sale of its 29% stake in William Hill Online (WHO), with the cash appearing to be reserved for further acquisitions.
“Since receiving the proceeds from the sale of Playtech’s stake in WHO, the board continues to seek opportunities to invest in other bolt-on acquisitions,” said Playtech CEO Mor Weizer.
Peel Hunt analyst Nick Batram stated the company’s strong performance reflected the sheer amount of activity and opportunity at Playtech. “With an impressive acquisition track record and over 460m in net cash, there is much to look forward to,” he said.