Addressing shareholders at Wednesday’s Playtech plc annual general meeting, chairman of the board Roger Withers said that he was pleased to report another year of growth and progress, with excellent top line performance and strong growth in EBITDA.
“In 2011 gross income increased by 41 percent to Euro 243.6 million and revenues by 46 percent to Euro 207.5 million,” Withers noted. “Adjusted EBITDA rose 22 percent to Euro 125.5 million, including the Group’s share of profit from William Hill Online,” he added.
Withers said that the Board and its advisers are committed to moving to a Premium Listing on the Official List of the London Stock Exchange and preparations continue to progress well. A prospectus will be published and an application made for the move, as soon as possible, he promised.
“Turning to current trading, the strong performance experienced in the first quarter has continued in the six weeks since the end of March. PTTS has outperformed expectations and the Group is preparing for regulated activity in the German and Spanish markets which is anticipated to commence later in the year when licences are granted in Schleswig-Holstein and Spain,” the chairman revealed.
Withers said that Playtech’s joint venture with William Hillplc – William Hill Online – continues to perform strongly and demonstrates Playtech’s ability to forge significant earnings enhancing partnerships with leading gaming businesses around the world.
The chairman paid tribute to the commitment of the executive management team and everyone working for the company, and concluded by saying he believed that Playtech would continue to deliver a strong performance and is well positioned for continued growth.