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Aspire Global has completed its first financial quarter as a subsidiary of NeoGames, recording steady revenue of $48.5m, although some hurdles were encountered.
As detailed in NeoGames Q3 trading update, Aspire’s revenue for the quarter represented an 8% growth rate when measured in constant currency, but this was somewhat offset by a 16% decrease due to the impact of foreign currency exchange rates.
Acquired by the itlottery firm in June for €410m, sportsbook and igaming supplier Aspire Global has clearly provided a boost to NeoGames revenues, which rose by 262% to $73.3m (Q3 2021: $20.2m).
This also included the company’s share in NPI revenues, which amounted to $11.1m – a 34.3% year-on-year increase on the $8.3m recorded in the third quarter of 2021 – whilst NeoGames own revenues rose by 418.3% from $12m to $62.2m.
“While we believe our results are indicative of the underlying strength we currently see in our business, we remain aware of the macro environment,” said Moti Malul, NeoGames CEO, in his statement to the firm’s NASDAQ investors.
“We did experience headwinds during the quarter related to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, serving as a reminder that we need to remain disciplined and focused on controlling what we can.
“As a result of the strengths underpinning our business each of our business lines experienced significant progress during the quarter. These advances demonstrate the value of our platform to customers as the powerhouse of best-of-brand technology servicing the interactive gaming space and to shareholders as a diversified market leader growing across multiple end markets.”
Additional highlights for NeoGames saw EBITDA rise by 135% from $7.5m to $17.6m, although the hurdles referenced by Malul were apparent in the firm’s net loss which stood at $4.4m, compared to $1.5m the previous year.
This was attributed by the firm to a $0.23 per share impact from the amortisation of intangible assets due to the Aspire Global takeover back in June, with the quarter reflecting ‘the impact of interest expense related to the transaction’.
Quarterly highlights for Aspire included an extension of its BtoBet sportsbook division’s agreement with its ‘largest partner’ SOJOGO – the Mozambique arm of the Portuguese National Lottery Santa Casa de Lisboa – for five years.
Aspire was also able to secure an agreement with German igaming operator ITSP covering turnkey technology and gaming content solutions, whilst the firm’s Pariplay igaming brand entered a partnership with Swedish firm ATG.
Regarding NeoGames’ operations as a whole, the group’s flagship ilottery activity recorded revenue of $24.7m, including its share of NPI revenues during the quarter, a 22% year-on-year increase and 8% quarterly increase.
“The strong performance where we grew revenue and profitability across the business is a great start for our first full quarter post completion of the combination,” Malul remarked. “In iLottery, our top line results grew 22% compared to last year reaching an all-time quarterly record.
“In addition, iLottery Adjusted EBITDA margins returned to the 40% level during the quarter. These strong results reflect our iLottery platform continuing to power customer results to outperform market performance.”
He concluded: “Our iGaming and Sportsbetting businesses grew approximately 8% on a constant currency basis reflecting continued strength in our Pariplay and BtoBet offerings. It’s early days in our integration efforts, yet we are already seeing the benefits from the combination as we advance our global leadership across iLottery, iGaming and online sports betting.”
