Trading Update and Quarterly Dividend Declaration

RNS Number : 4366S

GVC Holdings PLC

08 July 2015

 

GVC Holdings PLC

("GVC" or the "Group")

H1 Trading Update

Quarterly Dividend Declaration

GVC Holdings PLC (AIM:GVC), the multinational sports betting and gaming group, today announces a positive trading update for the six months to 30 June 2015, along with announcing a quarterly dividend of 14.0€cents per share. The dividend will be payable on Monday 17 August 2014 to shareholders on the register on Friday 24 July 2014, and the shares will go ex-dividend on Thursday 23 July 2014.

The dividend declared today is in addition to the 12.5€cents declared on 12 January 2015 and the 15.5€cents declared on 23 March 2015 and brings the total declared for the year to date to 42.0€cents, 5% higher than at the same period last year, being 40.0€cents.

Trading overview

The GVC Board is pleased to announce record trading for the six months to 30 June 2015. Sports wagers increased by 19% to €823million (H1-2014: €694 million) and the aggregate sports margin was 8.9% (H1-2014: 9.9%), reflecting well publicised "punter-friendly" results in the year to date. Net Gaming Revenue ("NGR") performed strongly, reaching €120million in the period, up 14% on the same period last year despite the benefit, in June 2014 alone, of 54 additional football fixtures in the World Cup.

Customer deposits also rose significantly reaching €1.7million per day in H1-2015, 18% higher than H1-2014 (€1.5million).

The second quarter of 2015 showed a particularly pleasing result with sports wagers averaging €4.5million per day (Q2-2014: €3.9million), and NGR averaging €661,000 per day (Q2-2014: €602k). This strength in trading continued into June with NGR higher than that for June 2014  when the World Cup was being played.

The key highlights for H1-2015 are as follows:

	H1-2015	H1-2014	H2-2014
Sports wagers (in €millions)	823	694	769
Sports margin	8.9%	9.9%	9.7%
Total NGR (€millions)	120.0	105.1	119.7
Averages per day
Days in period	181	181	184
Sports wagers (€000's)	4,544	3,836	4,180
Sports NGR (€000's)	302	287	316
Gaming NGR (€000's)	361	293	335
Total NGR (€000's)	663	580	651

In Q2-2015:

·     Sports wagers reached €412.3 million (€4.5 million per day), 16.0% higher than Q2-2014

·     Total NGR: €661k per day, up 9.9% over Q2-2014 (€602k per day)

·     Customer deposits were €160.8 million up 17.5% on Q2-2014 (€136.9 million)

Dividend

The increased first interim dividend of 14.0 €cents per share (2014: 12.5 €cents) announced today represents management's confidence in the current trading and future prospects of the Group.  GVC anticipates declaring a second interim dividend for the six months ended 30 June 2015 along with the release of its Interim Results in September.

Offer discussions with bwin.party digital entertainment plc ("bwin.party")

As announced on 15 May 2015, GVC has submitted a proposal with a view to the Group acquiring the entire issued and to be issued share capital of bwin.party. This proposal would be jointly financed by GVC and Amaya, Inc and involves new debt facilities and the issue of new shares.  Talks with bwin.party are continuing, although there can be no certainty that such talks will result in an offer being made. GVC will provide a further update for shareholders as and when appropriate.

Update on Greek Operations

GVC has a presence in the Greek market via its partner, Centric Multimedia S.A. Following the recent imposition of capital controls by the government restricting the movement of funds both within and outside of Greece, the Company notes that it has registered a softening in player activity in that territory.

GVC continues to monitor events. However it is too early to forecast what, if any, the implications will be, and whether they will have a material effect on the second half of the financial year for our Greek operations.

As stated above GVC's other markets continue to trade well, providing the confidence to declare the aforementioned quarterly dividend of 14.0€cents per share and the Board remains confident in year end expectations.

Kenneth Alexander, Chief Executive of GVC Holdings plc, said: "I am delighted today to announce another record revenue performance for the half-year. Wagers, NGR, customer deposits continue to grow and the Board remains confident for the outlook for the remainder of the year and beyond."

- 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, Laura Jaques

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, Denmark, UK, South Africa, Alderney and the Dutch Caribbean.

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

 

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