Playtech Expects €300 Million in 2020 Earnings

Playtech plc (LON:PTEC), a provider of online gaming and sports betting software, has published its annual trading update for 2020 on Tuesday, showcasing excellent progress and expecting an adjusted EBITDA of at least €300 million.

The company highlighted that the numbers were driven by the boost in its business in the first half of 2020, but also revealed that H2 was challenging.

Though Playtech’s financial unit Finalto, formerly known as TradeTech, brought in most of the profits in H1, its position was replaced by Core B2B and Snaitech. 

Finalto’s revenue surged by 123 percent year-on-year in H1 2020 with €87.3 million. The adjusted EBITDA for the period reached €52.8 million, gaining 544 percent from the previous year.

“Playtech made significant strategic and operational progress in 2020 despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the London Stock Exchange filing noted.

Aggressively Expanding in Overseas Markets

The company updated that last year, it entered the United States market, launching bet365 and Entain after receiving a license from the state of New Jersey. It also received regulatory approval from the state of Michigan in December.

Furthermore, Playtech bolstered its business in Latin America and saw strong growth in Mexico, and entered Colombia with Wplay. It also signed new structured agreements in Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Panama.

In Europe, Playtech’s Snaitech held its dominance in the Italian market, showing strong online growth and gains in market share.

The company’s online Casino, Bingo and Poker businesses, which comes under Core B2B, also boomed last year, however, Playtech did not reveal any figures yet.

On the down side, Playtech witnessed a slump in its Asian business due to the harsh COVID-19 restrictions on payment processing imposed by the governments. Additionally, it brought in more distributors in Asia to add flexibility to its business.

“Whilst the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose challenges and the macroeconomic outlook remains highly uncertain, Playtech remains well placed to make further strategic and operational progress in 2021,” the company added.