Stride Gaming share price soars on strong trading update
Bingo-focused operator's share price up more than 12% as it expects full-year profits to exceed market expectations by £0.5m
Stride Gaming’s share price climbed more than 12% this morning after the bingo-led operator announced it expects revenues and profits to exceed market expectations for the year-ended 31 August 2016.
According to a trading update, the operator said it predicts net gaming revenue for the 12-month period will be not less than £47m, up from £27.8m last year, while EBITDA will be not less than £12.3m.
Today’s market update led a number of analysts and investment companies to revise their full-year expectations for Stride Gaming, with Canaccord Genuity and Shore Capital Markets both upgrading their 2016 EBITDA forecast by £0.5m.
The operator’s share price on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) has since increased 12.16% to 272p at the time of writing.
“We are delighted with the organic growth from our underlying business which remains robust,” Eitan Boyd, chief executive of Stride Gaming, said.
“This, coupled with the completion of our recent acquisitions, means we have significant scale, increased market share and are now the fourth largest online bingo operator in the UK.
“With these positive developments in mind the company looks forward to the future with confidence.”
The operator recently doubled its market share of the UK bingo market to 10% after acquiring the assets of rival online bingo firms Tarco and 8Ball for up to £70m, adding 96 new brands to its portfolio.
In Stride Gaming’s most recent financial results the operator announced a 29% year-on-year increase in H1 2016 revenues and a profit of £5.6m, up from £4.4m in the comparative period last year.