SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
LeoVegas AB has detailed stable trading ahead of its business takeover by MGM Resorts, set to be concluded by end-of-year trading.
The Stockholm-listed online gambling group published its likely last quarterly trading update, registering corporate revenues of €98m, which reflected a near 1% decline on 2021 comparative results of €99.4m.
Period highlights saw LeoVegas maintain growth in its home Nordic markets, which registered a 20% year-on-year increase, buoyed by the ‘record performance’ of a relaunched Expekt sportsbook brand in Sweden.
Yet home market growth was dragged by a 19% decline in Western Europe, followed by a further 10% drop in rest-of-word (ROW) revenues.
The regional declines were attributed to LeoVegas’ continued absence from the Netherlands, and by ‘adverse short-term regulatory adjustments’ in the newly regulated market of Ontario Canada.
Headline expenditure saw LeoVegas account for lower costs of sales of €15.5m (Q32021: €17m), offset by the group recording a period increase in gaming duties to €19.3m (Q32021: €15m).
The increased costs, which accounted for 35% of revenues, saw LeoVegas register period gross profits of €64m, falling behind Q3 2021 comparative results of €66m.
Period trading saw the group’s bottom-line results impacted by €9.7m in special items affecting comparability, primarily attributed to transactions-related factors connected to the MGM buyout and purchase of shares.
Accounting for special items, the group declared a period EBITDA loss of €2.6m. Bottomline impacts saw LeoVegas operating profit (EBIT) fall to losses to €9.3m.
September trading saw company shareholders vote 98% in favour of MGM’s SEK61.00 in cash per share offers which values LeoVegas at $605m.
The transaction will be concluded by the newly elected three-member board composed of LeoVegas Chief Executive Gustaf Hagman, MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle and Gary Fritz, Head of Gaming at IAC, a major shareholder in the firm.
