SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
JackpotJoy Plc has posted impressive growth figures in its maiden results on the London Stock Exchange after the online operator’s move from Toronto and rebranding from the Intertain name. The firm has announced strong group financial performance on a like-for-like basis with revenue growth of 15% and adjusted EBITDA growth of 19%, with record cash generation for the year in the shape of £83.0m of operating cash flow.
CEO Andrew McIver commented: “The past financial year has been a turbulent one for the Group, so I am pleased to be reporting strong results today, which clearly demonstrate the strength of our brands across the portfolio. Strong group revenue growth of 15% has been driven by growth across all our business units, with our largest brand, Jackpotjoy, reporting impressive growth of 17%.”
The company said that Jackpotjoy plc is ‘ideally positioned’ to take advantage of future growth in the online gaming sector, which it said will be driven by a combination of improved accessibility of customers through the growing use of mobile devices, expanding customer demographics, and regulatory trends that are opening more markets up to online gaming.
The value of the global online casino and online bingo market is forecast to be approximately €12 billion by 2018, representing a compound annual growth rate of more than approximately 10% from 2014 (source: H2 Gambling Capital 2015) while mobile gambling is expected to grow at double-digit rates. Last year the company’s three business segments – Jackpotjoy, Vera&John and Mandalay – all reported organic growth.
McIver added: “Looking ahead to 2017, I am excited about what the year holds for Jackpotjoy plc, following our listing on the London Stock Exchange in January 2017. I am confident that our strong portfolio of brands will continue to deliver strong organic growth and this is further evidenced by the 10% revenue growth year-on-year we are forecasting for Q1 2017.”
Another important development for the group was the new deal it signed with its major supplier Gamesys. Chairman Neil Goulden emphasised the importance of this new agreement to shareholders. “Prior to the London listing, Intertain raised additional debt financing in an aggregate sterling equivalent amount of £160 million, whereby proceeds were used to fund a £150 million pre-payment of the earn-out relating to the Jackpotjoy and Starspins brands. This pre-payment to Gamesys also made effective the amendments to the Gamesys group agreements.”
Key terms of the Amendments included wo-year additional non-competition covenants from the Gamesys group (to April 2019), a five-year extension of terms of the operating agreements (to April 2030), with a corresponding extension of the term of the content licensing agreement (to April 2040); and the introduction of an aggregate cap of £375m on Intertain’s aggregate earn-out obligations (previously uncapped).
Goulden added: “It was an easy decision to renegotiate our contracts with the Gamesys group (our platform and service provider for the Jackpotjoy brands), as we believe the Gamesys group’s platform is the best in the market and provides us with a unique and competitive edge. We value our long-term partnership with the Gamesys group, the results of which are reflected in our market share and brand performance.
“The additional debt financing was an important step for the Group. Not only did it provide certainty regarding our future capital structure, the amendments to the Gamesys group agreements will further solidify our strong operating relationship with the Gamesys group.”
