A fifth consecutive quarter of growth for GVC Holdings (GVC) came down to an “excellent” World Cup, says chief executive Kenny Alexander. During the 2014 tournament the group witnessed a surge in turnover as a slew of new customers placed a high number of bets. 147,000 new players drove a 44 per cent improvement in net gaming revenues to €105m (£82m) for the half. The value of total wagers also rose 38 per cent to €694m.
Renowned for its generous dividends and quarterly shareholder returns, GVC upped the second-quarter dividend by 19 per cent to 12.5ȼ a share. In addition, the company declared a special dividend of 2.5ȼ a share. So far, cumulative dividends payable in 2014 amount to 55ȼ a share - 96 per cent higher than total dividends paid in 2013.
Mr Alexander says the third quarter is going just as well, and that regulatory change – specifically the introduction of the Point of Consumption tax in December - won’t have a dramatic impact on the group’s finances. As it stands, GVC expects to pay approximately €1.5m in corporate taxes this year.
Analysts at Panmure Gordon expect pre-tax profits of €44.1m in 2014, giving EPS of 70ȼ, up from €37.1m and 58.8ȼ in 2013.
GVC HOLDINGS (GVC) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
ORD PRICE: | 477p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 292m | |
TOUCH: | 473-480p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 483p | LOW: 306p |
DIVIDEND YIELD: | 7.9% | PE RATIO: | 12 | |
NET ASSET VALUE: | 234ȼ* | NET CASH: | £15.2m |
Half-year to 30 June | Turnover (€m) | Pre-tax profit (€m) | Earnings per share (ȼ) | Dividend** per share (ȼ) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | 73.2 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 21 |
2014 | 105.1 | 19.6 | 31.5 | 25 |
% change | +43 | +932 | -2 | +19 |
Ex-div: 09 Oct Payment: 03 Nov *Including intangible assets of €152m or 249ȼ a share £1 = €1.27 **Excluding special dividends worth 6ȼ a share |