Pre-close Trading Update

RNS Number : 8392B

GVC Holdings PLC

12 January 2015

 

GVC Holdings PLC

("GVC" or the "Group" or the "Company")

Pre-close Trading Update

Dividend Declaration

Notice of Preliminary Results for year ended 31 December 2014

GVC Holdings PLC (AIM:GVC), a leading e-gaming operator in both b2c and b2b markets, today provides the following trading update.

Highlights

·     2014 ended strongly with Net Gaming Revenue ("NGR") exceeding €20.3m for the month of December (€656k per day; up 17% on December 2013 at €535k per day) with a sports margin of 9.9% (December 2013: 9.1%)

·      Q4-2014 total NGR €59.4m, €646k per day, up 22% on Q4-2013

·     Record level of sports turnover in Q4-2014, Sports wagers exceeded €400m, up 11% on Q4-2013 and up 9% on Q3-2014

·      Q4-2014 sports margin, 9.1% (Q4-2013: 8.4%)

·      NGR for the year* was €224.6m, up 23% on 2013 with sports margins of 9.8% (2013: 9.6%)

·      Third interim dividend declared of 12.5€cents, up 8.7% on 2014

·      Strong start to 2015 on exceptional sports margins

* unaudited

Dividend Declaration

Following the continued strong trading, the Board has declared today its third interim dividend of 12.5€cents per share, an increase of 8.7% on the prior year (2014: 11.5€cents), payable on 13 February to shareholders on the register on 23 January 2015.

Trading KPIs per quarter:

Average per day in €000's	Q4-2014	Q4-2013	Q1-2014		Q2-2014	Q3-2014
Sports wagers	4,355	3,926	3,765	3,907		3,995
Sports margin	9.1%	8.4%	10.0%	9.8%		10.5%
Sports NGR	302	244	279	296		330
Gaming NGR	344	285	280	305		325
Total NGR	646	529	559	601		654

2015 update

2015 has started strongly. In the eight days to midnight eight January 2015, and compared with the same period in 2014, deposits made by customers grew 22% to an average of €1.6m per day (2014: €1.3m) Sports wagers grew 9.7% to an average of €4.0m per day (2014: €3.6m). Sports margin was a strong 12.8% (2014: 9.4%), leading to a pleasing daily NGR of €779k (2014: €534k).

Kenneth Alexander, Chief Executive of GVC Holdings plc, said:

"I am delighted today to announce another strong quarter and full-year for revenues, along with a 12.5€cents per share third interim dividend, 1€cent per share (8.7%) higher than the same period in the prior year (11.5€cents). 2014 has been an exciting and successful year with the Group now in a strong position to further its growth.  The continued success and growth of the Group is a result of the tremendous efforts from the talented and motivated staff we have at GVC, all of which have bonus plans aligned to the level of dividends paid to shareholders.  We look forward to providing the market with a more detailed update when we report the Group's preliminary results in March."

Notice of Preliminary Results

The Group expects to release its Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 December 2014 in the week commencing 23 March 2015, along with a further trading update.

- Ends -

For further information:

GVC Holdings PLC
Kenneth Alexander, Chief Executive	Tel: [phone]
Richard Cooper, Group Finance Director	www.gvc-plc.com

Cenkos Securities plc (Nomad & Broker)	Tel: [phone]
Mark Connelly, Stephen Keys, Callum Davidson

Media enquiries:

Bell Pottinger	Tel: [phone]
David Rydell, James Newman

About GVC Holdings PLC

GVC Holdings PLC is a leading e-gaming operator in both b2c and b2b markets.  Its core brands are CasinoClub, Betboo and Sportingbet.  The Group has over 700 employees/consultants and is headquartered in the Isle of Man and has licenses in Malta, Germany, Denmark, UK, South Africa, Italy, Alderney and the Dutch Caribbean.

Further information on the Group is available at www.gvc-plc.com

 

END

 

 

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