Online sportsbetting and gaming provider GVC Holdings has released a trading update regarding its fourth-quarter performance and showing that it expects to report a 7% year-on-year increase in net gaming revenues to just over $249.3 million.
Established in 2004, GVC Holdings acquired rival Sportingbet in 2012 before expanding again four years later with the purchase of Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment. The Isle Of Man-based firm revealed that the three months to the end of December saw its daily net gaming revenues swell by 7% year-on-year to almost $2.7 million.
GVC Holdings moreover stated that its daily net revenues from gaming rose by 9% year-on-year to $1.7 million while the figure for sportsbetting hit $974,861, which was a boost of 5%, as the number of wagers grew by 3% to an average of $13.8 million with a margin of 9.6%.
In light of these results, GVC Holdings declared that it anticipates reporting annual net gaming revenues of around $964 million, which would be an increase of 9% year-on-year and slightly ahead of previous predictions. The firm also explained that this would be alongside clean earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization in the “upper end of market expectations” while its net debt would stand at approximately $151 million.
“2016 was a landmark year for GVC Holdings in which the group undertook its largest and most ambitious acquisition to date, that of Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment,” read a statement from Kenneth Alexander, Chief Executive Officer for GVC Holdings. “Through the tremendous hard work of our people, we achieved and exceeded many of our goals and once again we were able to create significant shareholder value. In addition to returning Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment to growth, we remain on target to secure $134.7 million of synergies by the end of the current year.”
In related news, GVC Holdings announced that it had additionally fully repaid an outstanding $416.2 million loan with Cerberus Business Finance through “a combination of existing cash resources and the drawdown of the $269.5 million loan from Nomura International”. It explained that this will see interest payments on the new loan facility drop to around $43.1 million for 2017.
“The positive trading momentum experienced in 2016 has continued with a particularly strong start to 2017,” read the statement from Alexander. “Pro forma daily net gaming revenues for the month of January were up by 21% against the same period in 2016. Our strategy of pursuing international diversification and scale through the leverage of our proprietary technology and talented people is more relevant today than ever. We are excited about the organic opportunities for the group in 2017 and beyond but also remain alive to further industry consolidation.”
