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NEWS IN BRIEF
Hills joins FTSE 100
William Hill made its return to the FTSE 100 for the first time since being relegated from the share index in 2005. The operator had been second reserve when its first-quarter results were released in April, and chief executive Ralph Topping said at the time he hoped the firm would become a £5bn company “within three to five years”. He added “now is the time to drive ahead” with plans to expand the business.
PLAYTECH PLEDGES TO LOOK AT NEW “STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVES”
Software provider to push on after £424m WHO deal and 16% revenue rise
Playtech chief executive Mor
Weizer has pledged to look at new “strategic alternatives” following the £424m sale of the software provider’s 29% stake in William Hill Online in a quarter where the ?rm posted a 16% rise in revenues. “With the completion of the sale of our stake in William Hill Online, we are focused on exploring strategic alternatives that will enable us to continue the growth and development of the business,” Weizer said. The CEO was speaking after the London-listed business recorded 16% year-on-year revenue growth for the three months ended 31 March, with casino contributing more than half of the €87.5m total after growing 28% compared to the corresponding period in 2012. Within the casino vertical, the company’s live dealer and mobile casino offerings were singled out for praise
by Weizer. A number of licensees have launched the live casino product in recent months, with Betfred among those to do so during the ?rst quarter. Revenues from Playtech’s sport division more than doubled from a low base, coming in at €4.6m, with the company seeing a strong contribution from mobile sportsbook Mobenga, acquired in 2011 and shortlisted this year for an eGaming Review B2B Award. While bingo (up 9% year-onyear) and services (up 2%) revenues grew, poker continued its decline with the 18% fall to €4.4m putting its contribution below that of sport for the ?rst time. The Asia Paci?c region continues to grow in signi?cance for Playtech, contributing 28% of total revenues after growing 8% quarter-on-quarter, however moderate growth from the core European market sees that geographic area continue to make up the lion’s share of the business.
Italy and poker push 888 to record Q1 revenues
Continued growth in poker and the launch of Italian slots helped push 888 to record revenues of US$103m in Q1 2013. Group B2C revenue was up 10% yearon-year to $83m driven by a 13% rise in casino revenues, which jumped to $48m in part due to the launch of slots in Italy. Poker revenues were once again a strong performer, climbing 15% to $24m on the back of “successful winter marketing campaigns”, despite yields falling 1% to $52 per customer for the three-month period ended 31 March.
ZYNGA PREDICTS Q2 DECLINE
Social gaming operator posts ?rst quarterly pro?t since listing
Zynga
Mobile growth drives record Unibet revenues
Unibet posted record revenues and EBITDA for Q1 2013, with CEO Henrik Tjärnström crediting growth from mobile and regulated European markets for the success. The Swedish-listed operator achieved gross winnings revenue of £59.3m in Q1 2013 compared to £51.1m in the same period last year, a 16% increase. EBITDA for the quarter rose 11.8% year-on-year from £15.3m last year to £17.1m. Mobile provided 16% of the company’s gross winnings revenue with Tjärnström telling analysts the channel is “currently the fastest-growing for us”.
its ?rst quarterly pro?t since becoming a public company in December 2011, but has also seen revenues and player numbers fall with Zynga poker showing “sequential decline” in the period. The operator posted net income of US$4m, compared to losses of $85m for the equivalent period last year. This marked the company’s return to pro?t after posting a full year net loss of $209m in its 2012 results, released in February. However, the three months ending 31 March 2013 saw revenues fall 18% to $264m, down from $321m in Q1 2012. The period also saw a decline in bookings, which fell 30% year-on-year to $230m,
has posted
while daily active users fell by a ?fth to 52 million, down from 62 million in the ?rst three months of 2012. Revenue was derived predominantly from in-game revenues of $230m, with advertising contributing just $34m – up 21% year-onyear but down 8% quarter-on-quarter. While the operator released its ?rstever real-money gambling products, ZyngaPlusPoker and ZyngaPlusCasino, last month, it did not break out any ?gures for the channel. It described the launch as “the ?rst step” towards realising the company’s “long-term vision of bringing players the next generation of real-money games on multiple platforms in regulated markets.”
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