Trading Update & Quarterly Dividend Declaration

RNS Number : 6041B

GVC Holdings PLC

08 October 2015

 

GVC Holdings PLC

("GVC" or the "Group")

Trading Update

Quarterly Dividend Declaration

GVC Holdings PLC (AIM:GVC), the multinational sports betting and gaming group, is pleased to announce a trading update for the nine months to 30 September 2015 and declares its second interim dividend of 14€cents per share.

The dividend will be payable on Monday 2 November 2015 to shareholders on the register on Friday 16 October 2015, and the shares will go ex-dividend on Thursday 15 October 2015.

The dividends declared so far this year amount to 56€cents per share, an increase over the 55€cents paid in the comparable period in 2014.

Trading overview

Strong trading has continued during the period:

·   Net Gaming Revenue ("NGR") for the nine months to 30 September 2015 was 11 per cent. higher than the same period in 2014 averaging €670k per day;

·   Wagers in the nine months to 30 September 2015 have grown to an average of €4.5 million per day representing an increase of 15 per cent. on the comparable period of 2014 (€3.9 million per day);

·   A gross win margin of 9.2% was achieved in sports during the period which compares to  10.1% achieved in 2014;

·   Net Revenue from gaming grew by 18 per cent. to an average of €356k per day (2014: €302k per day); and

·   Customer deposits rose by 14 per cent. compared with the same period in 2014 standing at €1.70 million per day (2014: €1.48 million).

Given the strong trading in the year to-date, the Board is highly confident of the outlook for the remainder of 2015.

The key highlights for nine months to 30 September 2015 are as follows:

	Q1-Q3 2015	Q1-Q3 2014	% change*
Sports margin	9.2%	10.1%
Averages per day
Days in period	273	273
Sports wagers (€000's)	4,486	3,890	15%
Sports NGR (€000's)	314	306	3%
Gaming NGR (€000's)	356	300	18%
Total NGR (€000's)	670	606	11%

* based on underlying figures

Offer for bwin.party digital entertainment plc ("bwin.party")

On 4 September 2015, it was announced that GVC and bwin.party had reached agreement on the terms of a recommended offer by GVC to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of bwin.party.

The first draft of the prospectus has been submitted to the UK Listing Authority and GVC expects that the final document will be posted in November 2015 enabling the transaction to complete in early 2016.  This indicative timeframe is subject to receipt of outstanding regulatory consents.

Kenneth Alexander, Chief Executive of GVC Holdings plc, said: "I am delighted to announce another record revenue performance for the period. Wagers, NGR and customer deposits all continue to grow strongly. The Board is highly confident about the outlook for the remainder of the year and into 2016. As we continue to deliver value through organic growth and acquisitions we are determined that the enlarged group will play an important role in the consolidating online gaming sector."

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 For further information:

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

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

Media enquiries:

Bell Pottinger	Tel: [phone]
David Rydell, James Newman, Anna Legge, 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 with licenses (or interim licenses) in Malta, Denmark, Greece, UK, Romania, South Africa, and the Dutch Caribbean.

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

 

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