Online gambling operator GVC Holdings announced today its preliminary results for 2015. The group also provided a trading update for the first quarter of 2016. Full-year net gaming revenue was up 10% year-on-year to reach €248 million.
Clean EBITDA amounted to a record of €54.1 million, up 10% as compared to the figure posted for the previous calendar year. Profit after taxation amounted to €24.7 million, down 39% as compared to the €40.6 million reported for 2014. GVC Holdings attributed the drop to the €24.5 million in “exceptional items,” of which €23 million were related to the purchase of fellow operator bwin.party digital entertainment.
The combined entity said that both GVC Holdings and bwin.party were affected by the UK Point of Consumption tax, which came into effect in December 2014. As a result from the 15% levy on online gambling, the two operators reported a combined loss of €12.4 million.
Nevertheless, GVC Holdings summarized its performance in 2015, saying that it has been the fifth consecutive year to post an increase in both net gaming revenue and clean EBITDA.
Last year, GVC Holdings announced that it would acquire fellow operator bwin.party for the amount of £1.1 billion. The acquisition was approved by shareholder on December 15, 2015 and was completed on February 1, 2016.
As mentioned above, the enlarged group reported information about its financial performance for the first quarter of the year. During the period in review, it generated net gaming revenue of €167.7 million, up 180% as compared to the €60 million posted by GVC Holdings for the same three months of 2015.
In addition, the company said that the combined group’s net gaming revenue increased 13% in the period between January 1-April 20. GVC Holdings’ brands posted an 18% increase in net gaming revenue for the period in review. bwin.party’s brands saw an 11% net gaming revenue growth in the said period. The enlarged company said that it is on track to achieve its goal for generating €125 million in synergies by the end of 2017.
Commenting on the posted results, Kenneth Alexander, GVC Holdings CEO, said that his company had a “momentous year” as it not only saw its fifth consecutive year of significant revenue and clean EBITDA increase but also the acquisition of fellow operator bwin.party. The purchase would allow GVC Holdings to take the combined entity to the next level, the executive added.
Mr. Alexander further noted that the company is in an excellent position to move forward and that the latest trading results are more than encouraging that the group will have another successful year.
