Playtech: Interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2015 – Directorate Change
Delivering on our strategy – strong underlying growth and strategic M&A
Playtech (LSE: PTEC) today announces its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2015 together with a trading update for the period to 24 August 2015.
Financial highlights
| H1 2015 | H1 2014 | Change | |
| Revenues | €286.0m | €214.4m | +33% |
| Adjusted EBITDA* | €112.9m | €97.6m | +16% |
| Adjusted Net Profit*/** | €115.0m | €96.8m | +19% |
| Reported Net Profit** | €83.9m | €75.6m | +11% |
| Adjusted EPS* | 39.6 €c | 33.3 €c | +19% |
| Interim dividend per share | 9.6 €c | 8.9 €c | +8% |
* Adjusted numbers exclude certain non-cash and one-off items including amortisation of intangibles on acquisitions, amortisation of intangibles in associates, professional costs on acquisitions, finance costs on acquisitions, share of profit from associate, gain on sale of investment in associate and available for sale investment, one-off provision against irrecoverable cash, and additional various non-cash charges. The directors believe that the Adjusted Profit represents more closely the underlying trading performance of the business. A full reconciliation between the actual and adjusted results is provided in Note 4.
** Attributable to the owners
- Total revenues up 33% vs H1 2014 on a reported basis:
– revenue growth of 29% (excluding acquisitions / adding back the impact of the UK POC tax)
– 15% growth on a constant currency basis (excluding acquisitions / adding back impact of the UK POC tax)
- Significant growth in adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS
- Adjusted net profit up 19% and strong operating cashflows support 19% increase in H1 total dividend payout, in line with unchanged dividend payout policy
Operational highlights
Gaming division
- Strong, broad based growth across regions and products from new and existing business
- Strategy of focussing on regulated and soon-to-be regulated markets continues to drive growth
– 40% of H1 Gaming revenues (H1 2014: 35%, H2 2014: 38%) from regulated markets
– 80% of incremental H1 Gaming growth from regulated markets at constant currency
- New licensees signed together with more products and services provided to existing licensees
- After the period end, accelerated £75m consideration agreed under marketing services agreement with Ladbrokes conditional on completion of the merger of Ladbrokes and Gala Coral
- Strong pipeline with significant opportunities across multiple geographies
Financials division
- Creation of the Financials division through M&A with clear strategic rationale
– regulated revenues in a high-growth industry
– leverages infrastructure and existing expertise
– highly accretive to earnings with substantial free cashflow conversion
- TradeFX, now called Markets Limited, acquisition completed in May – strong pro-forma H1 2015 performance
- Plus500 and Ava Trade acquisitions expected to complete by the end of September, subject to regulatory approval
- Firm plans to drive further growth and financial performance in the combined Financials division once all companies are part of the Playtech Group
Current trading and outlook
- Average daily revenue in the Gaming division for the first 55 days of Q3 2015:
– up 15% on Q3 2014 which benefitted from the impact of the 2014 World Cup
– down 2% on Q2 2015, with Q2 being a strong quarter and Q3 the traditionally slowest quarter
- In the first 55 days of Q3 2015, Markets Limited enjoyed a strong performance with CFD customers up 19% against the same period in 2014; and first time depositors (FTDs) for CFDs up 12%
- Performance and momentum provides management with confidence in continued strong growth for the remainder of 2015 and beyond
Alan Jackson, Chairman of Playtech, commented:
“We have made significant progress against all aspects of our strategy during the first half of the year. We have completed a series of strategic acquisitions to create and enhance our new Financials division, a high-growth and regulated industry, and our continued operational delivery across all business segments has translated into a strong financial performance across all key metrics, with revenues up by a third in the half year.
“Our Gaming business continues to go from strength to strength with our strategy of focussing on regulated markets driving growth. Our pipeline remains strong, with significant opportunities across all geographies, as customers seek to benefit from our market-leading omni-channel offering and our best-of-breed products in each and every product category.
“Taken together, the progress we have made gives me great confidence that the sustained momentum in our business will result in further growth in 2015 and beyond.”
Source: Playtech
Directorate Change
Playtech (LSE: PTEC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Paul Hewitt as a Non-executive Director of the Company with immediate effect. Mr Hewitt will chair the Board’s Risk & Compliance Committee and Remuneration Committee and sit on the Audit Committee and Nominations Committee.
Having qualified as an accountant with Arthur Andersen, Mr Hewitt’s recent executive responsibilities have included being the Deputy Group Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer of the Co-operative Group from 2003 to 2007; and Finance and IT Director of the RAC plc from 1999 to 2003. As a Non-executive, Mr Hewitt has helped many management teams adapt their business models to respond to, and anticipate, changes in their competitive and regulatory environments, including as Non-executive Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Tesco Bank from 2012 to 2014.
Pursuant to its obligations under the listing rules of the UK Listing Authority, Playtech plc notifies the following in respect of Mr. Hewitt:
(i) In the last five years, Mr. Hewitt has been a director of the following publicly quoted companies:
Current: None
Past: Collins Stewart Hawkpoint plc & Portrait Software plc
(ii) There are no details requiring disclosure in respect of Mr. Hewitt under listing rule 9.6.13 (2) to (6) of the UK Listing Authority
Commenting on the change to the Board, Playtech’s Chairman, Alan Jackson, said:
“I am delighted that Paul has decided to join Playtech’s board at such an exciting time in the Company’s evolution. Paul brings a wealth of experience across a variety of sectors, including in the financial services industry, and his experience will prove invaluable to Playtech’s continued growth.”
Source: Playtech
