It's been a busy six months for Playtech, which saw the online gaming infrastructure provider announce several major strategic partnerships and acquisitions, as well as strengthening its board as part of plans to switch from the Alternative Investment Market to the main list.
Underlying cash profits climbed 20 per cent, which meant that cash balances continued to increase even though the group invested heavily in product development and spent €37.7m (£33.2m) on the acquisition of bingo provider Virtue Fusion, which delivered revenues of €4.5m in the four months under Playtech's ownership.
But it was the casino division that turned in the most impressive performance, with revenues up 31 per cent to €49.1m, as it launched around 60 new games with partners over the period. The planned launch of a web-casino with Betfair in September is expected to keep the momentum going, on top of the 5 per cent month-on-month increase in gross royalties from casino reported in August.
A bookie-friendly World Cup also meant a €15m share of profit from its online joint venture with William Hill, up 46 per cent over the year. It's also now working with Ladbrokes, rolling out its Videobet technology to its 7,600 fixed-odds gaming machines.
Broker Collins Stewart expects full-year cash profits of €102m and EPS of 37¢ (from €93.7m and 36¢ in 2009).
PLAYTECH (PTEC) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 418p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.01bn | |
| TOUCH: | 417-418p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 552p | LOW: 305p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.7% | PE RATIO: | 16 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 119¢* | NET CASH: | €60m | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (€m) | Pre-tax profit (€m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 56.7 | 32.8 | 13.6 | 8.9 |
| 2010 | 72.9 | 37.7 | 15.3 | 9.4 |
| % change | +29 | +15 | +13 | +6 |
Ex-div: 22 Sep Payment: 22 Oct *Includes intangible assets of €99m, or 41¢ a share £1=€1.21 | ||||
