Playtech has announced its financial results for the first half of this year, revealing a 4% growth in revenue despite the problems in the Asian market.
The company also posted a 13% decrease in its EBITDA to €145 million, while its adjusted profit of €83.3 million was also down 34% when compared to the same period of last year.
These figures were significantly affected by the problems in the firm’s Asian operation.
Trying to Forget Asia
Asia excluded, the numbers are looking good. Revenues jumped by 35%, with regulated markets accounting for 69% of the gaming giant’s revenues, a 50% year-on-year increase.
Playtech completed several important moves during this period, including the purchase of Italian Snaitech, with the strong acquisitions strategy likely to continue in the coming period.
Playtech BGT Sports continues to perform well in the market, generating 27% more revenue on a yearly basis, while Sun Bingo took home 28% more money during the first six months of 2018.
Several new agreements were signed, most notably the one with the UK-based Gala Leisure Buzz Bingo, while the company’s plans for the GVC Group are also making progress.
Average daily revenue in Playtech’s B2B Gaming Division for the first 52 days of the year’s third quarter was up by 6%. Bear in mind that results from Asia are not included.
Higher Quality Earnings
Commenting on these figures, Playtech’s Chairman Alan Jackson said the company had had an extremely busy first half of the year with important operational progress and new licensee wins in key strategic markets, the UK, Europe and Latin America.
He added the continued progress was resulting in higher quality earnings for Playtech, while regulated revenue at current run rate was expected to be around 80% in 2018.
Jackson pointed out the progress was marked against the disappointing market conditions in Asia but added the headwinds in the Asian market were not reflective of the core strength of the Playtech model as the regulated segment continued to report organic growth and encouraging momentum.
He stated the Snaitech acquisition had been extremely important for the company, delivering a cornerstone presence in the largest, and one of the fasted growing gambling markets in Europe.
