Jackpot Joy and Vera John online gambling parent reports H1 results

The JPJ online gambling group, which operates the Jackpot Joy and Vera and John enterprises, has posted its H1-2018 results, highlighting:

* Revenue up 10 percent y-o-y at GBP 161.1 million;

* Adjusted net income up 7 percent at GBP 45.5 million;

* Adjusted EBITDA down by 4 percent at GBP 56.9 million after investment in major marketing and accounting for higher taxes;

* Average active players per month up 7 percent thanks to new markets, especially in Spain;

* Jackpot Joy completed its final earn-out payment for Spanish business Botemania during the half-year

CEO Neil Goulden said in his report that he expected earnings to return to return to growth in the second half of the year, thanks to strong cash flow generation throughout the company.

He revealed that JPJ has signed a share purchase agreement for the sale of its social business for GBP 18.1 million, although no further details were disclosed, adding:

“Post completion, the group will be exclusively focused on its core activity of real money gaming and the disposal will represent another positive step in reducing net leverage.”

Following the release of the report JPJ shares waned almost 5 percent on the London exchange.