STRONG Q2-2012 PERFORMANCE FROM PLAYTECH


Friday August 24,2012 : STRONG Q2-2012 PERFORMANCE FROM PLAYTECH
 
Plenty of action at online gambling software developer
 
Playtech plc has posted its Q2 2012 Key Performance Indicators and trading update for the three months ended June 30 2012, reporting:
 
Financial highlights:
 
* Gross income up 82 percent to Euro 88.1 million, (Q2/11: Euro 48.4 million) and flat on Q1/12
* Total revenues up 99 percent to Euro 78.6 million, (Q2/11: Euro 39.6 million) and up 5 percent on Q1/12
 
Quarter-on-quarter revenue:
 
* Casino revenues up 36 percent to Euro 37.1 million, (Q2/11: Euro 27.3 million) and up 8 percent on Q1/12
 
* Poker revenues down 12 percent to Euro 4.4 million, (Q2/11: Euro 5 million) and down 18 percent on Q1/12
 
* Bingo revenues up 21 percent to Euro 4.4 million, (Q2/11: Euro 3.6 million) and up 1 percent on Q1/12
 
* Videobet revenues up 36 percent to Euro 2.8 million, (Q2/11: Euro 2 million) and up 15 percent on Q1/12
 
* Services revenues up 4 percent to Euro 26.8 million on Q1/12
 
* Share of profit in William Hill Online up 7 percent to Euro 9.5 million, (Q2/11: Euro 8.8 million) and down 29 percent from Q1/12 reflecting strong performance in Q1/12
 
* PTTS purchase completed on 1 July 2011
 
Trading update
 
Management reports that daily activity for the first 31 days of Q3/12 is 24 percent ahead of Q3/11 and 3 percent below that of the daily average of the previous quarter.
 
Operational highlights
 
* Playtech licensees, including Bet365, William Hill, Betfair, Casino Gran Madrid have launched in the newly regulated Spanish market with further licensees looking to launch in September
 
* Gala Coral is progressing and the first two phases of its migration to the Playtech platform, including Gala Bingo and Gala Casino, completed successfully in July and are performing well
 
* Playtech’s mobile strategy is progressing well with Paddy Power launching nine casino games in an integrated mobile solution
 
* Playtech's iPoker network, hosted the live iPOPS event at the Gran Casino de Barcelona. The event is a series of tournaments with a total guaranteed prize of $1 million
 
* The largest bingo network progressive jackpot promotion was completed in Q2/12 delivering a combined £2.5 million in prize money to players
 
Corporate highlights
 
* Playtech progressed to the Premium Listing segment of the Official List, and was admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange's Main Market for listed securities on 2 July
 
* The company announced the appointment of Andrew Thomas as a Non-executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee on 19 June
 
* PTTS met the conditions relating to the acceleration of the additional consideration of Euro 140 million payable to Worldwide Online Enterprises Ltd
 
* The company completed previously announced related party transactions for a social gaming software licensing agreement with Skywind Holdings, a lease agreement for GTS’s premises and an advisory agreement with Teddy Sagi on 12 June
 
* January's Geneity acquisition continues to make good integration progress alongside strong performances from Mobenga and Ash Gaming
 
* Acceleration of PTTS additional consideration PTTS’s continued strong performance in Q2 2012 and has triggered the accelerated payment mechanism of the entire additional consideration of Euro 140 million. The acceleration has occurred by virtue of PTTS having achieved an annualised adjusted EBITDA in excess of Euro 40 million by reference to its performance in H1 2012.
 
The first tranche of the accelerated payment of Euro 42 million was paid at the end of July 2012. The other non-interest bearing installments will be met by Playtech's operating cash flows on the following dates:
 
31 January 2013, Euro 35 million;
31 July 2013, Euro 35 million; and
31 January 2014, Euro 28 million.
 
Commenting on the KPIs, Platech's ceo, Mor Weizer, said:
 
“First half performance for 2012 has been very encouraging and all products, with the exception of poker, have achieved strong year-on-year growth. I am also particularly pleased that Playtech achieved a Premium Listing on 2 July, which marks the Company’s exceptional progress since listing on AIM in 2006.”
 
“The services division has delivered a very impressive performance and surpassed the accelerated payment threshold. This uniquely positions Playtech for future strategic revenue streams as markets continue to regulate. Although we anticipate a seasonal slowdown during the traditionally weaker summer months, I believe that the Company is well positioned to maintain the momentum into the rest of the year."