TIDM888
RNS Number : 4455Q
888 Holdings plc
18 October 2023
18 October 2023
888 Holdings Plc
("888" or "the Group")
Q3 2023 Trading Update
Q3 actual result in line with September trading update; no
change in full year expectations
888 (LSE: 888), one of the world's leading betting and gaming
companies with internationally renowned brands including William
Hill, 888 and Mr Green, today announces an update confirming its
trading during the three months ended 30 September 2023 ("Q3-23" or
the "Period"). Further detail on the financial results by division
is included as an appendix to this announcement.
Highlights
-- Group: performance in line with 28(th) September 2023 trading
update with revenue of GBP405.0m, down 10% year on year. Trends and
drivers of year-over-year performance are consistent with that
update with significant and ongoing improvements being made to the
sustainability and quality of the mix of the business impacting
performance in the short-term.
-- UK&I Online: continued strong customer engagement with
average monthly actives +17%. Revenue -10% driven by ongoing impact
of safer gambling changes and refined marketing approach, coupled
with lower-than-expected betting net win margin from customer
friendly sports results in September, particularly UK football.
-- Retail: strong underlying performance driven by improved
product offering through investment in SSBTs and gaming cabinets,
partly offset by customer friendly sports results meaning revenue
was +1% year-over-year.
-- International: average monthly actives -2% and revenue -19%
with an ongoing significant impact from compliance changes in
dotcom markets, particularly the Middle East, with a slower
recovery in revenue and customer activity than initially
anticipated.
-- Synergy delivery on track and significant cost savings being
delivered that have helped to partly mitigate the impact of
regulatory and compliance changes.
-- Section8 in-house games successfully integrated into William
Hill online and the initial integration of William Hill's
proprietary global trading platform into 888's in-house platform,
with certain sports now being traded across the group from one
trading engine.
-- Prioritising the safety and wellbeing of the Group's more
than 500 colleagues in Israel and their families following the
outbreak of war post Period end. Activated business continuity
plans, which are working well with no significant impact on
business operations expected.
-- No change to expectations of Q4 revenue being down mid-single
digit and FY23 Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 18-19%.
Per Widerström, CEO of 888, commented:
"I am very excited to have joined the 888 Group as the new CEO.
I have already been struck by the strength of the Group's assets
and its clear potential, as well as the ambition of our team.
I am happy to note that despite the regulatory challenges the
Group has faced this year, the hard work by the team is already
showing signs of results meaning that we head towards the end of
the year with positive momentum, and well placed to grow in the
coming years.
This is a business with a very strong foundation for profitable
growth. But there are clearly also several areas for improvement
which we will focus on to unlock our full potential and drive value
creation. I am looking forward to working closely with our
fantastic people in the Group, the talented executive team and the
Board to ensure we are in the best possible position to deliver our
plans and maximise value creation."
Enquiries and further information:
888 Holdings Plc +44(0) 800 029 3050
Per Widerström, CEO
Vaughan Lewis, Interim CFO and Chief Strategy Officer
Investor Relations ir@888holdings.com
James Finney, Director of IR
Media 888williamhill@hudsonsandler.com
Hudson Sandler
Alex Brennan / Charlotte Cobb / Andy Richards +44(0) 207 796 4133
About 888 Holdings Plc:
888 Holdings plc (and together with its subsidiaries, "888" or
the "Group") is one of the world's leading betting and gaming
companies. The Group owns and operates internationally renowned
brands including William Hill, 888, and Mr Green. In addition, the
Group operates the SI Sportsbook and SI Casino brands in the US in
partnership with Authentic Brands Group.
Incorporated in Gibraltar, and headquartered and listed in
London, the Group operates from offices around the world and
employs over 11,000 people globally.
The Group's mission is to lead the gambling world in creating
the best betting and gaming experiences, bringing unrivalled
moments of excitement to people's day-to-day lives. It achieves
this by developing state-of-the-art technology and content-rich
products that provide fun, fair, and safe betting and gaming
entertainment to customers worldwide.
Find out more at:
http://corporate.888.com/
Important Notices
This announcement may contain certain forward-looking
statements, beliefs or opinions, with respect to the financial
condition, results of operations and business of 888. These
statements, which contain the words "anticipate", "believe",
"intend", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "seek", "continue",
"aim", "target", "projected", "plan", "goal", "achieve", words of
similar meaning or other forward looking statements, reflect 888's
beliefs and expectations and are based on numerous assumptions
regarding 888's present and future business strategies and the
environment 888 will operate in and are subject to risks and
uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially.
No representation is made that any of these statements or forecasts
will come to pass or that any forecast results will be achieved.
Forward-looking statements involve inherent known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and contingencies because they relate to
events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the
future and may cause the actual results, performance or
achievements of 888 to be materially different from those expressed
or implied by such forward looking statements. Many of these risks
and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond 888's ability
to control or estimate precisely, such as future market conditions,
currency fluctuations, the behaviour of other market participants,
the actions of regulators and other factors such as 888's ability
to continue to obtain financing to meet its liquidity needs,
changes in the political, social and regulatory framework in which
888 operates or in economic or technological trends or conditions.
Past performance of 888 cannot be relied on as a guide to future
performance. As a result, you are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on such forward-looking statements. The list above is not
exhaustive and there are other factors that may cause 888's actual
results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements
contained in this announcement. Forward-looking statements speak
only as of their date and 888, its respective parent and subsidiary
undertakings, the subsidiary undertakings of such parent
undertakings, and any of such person's respective directors,
officers, employees, agents, affiliates or advisers expressly
disclaim any obligation to supplement, amend, update or revise any
of the forward-looking statements made herein, except where it
would be required to do so under applicable law. No statement in
this announcement is intended as a profit forecast or a profit
estimate and no statement in this announcement should be
interpreted to mean that the financial performance of 888 for the
current or future financial years would necessarily match or exceed
the historical published for 888
Appendix: Divisional Summary
Q3 2023
UK&I Online Retail International Group
Unaudited Q3 Q3 % Q3 Q3 % Q3 Q3 % Q3 Q2 %
GBPm 2023 2022 Change 2023 2022 Change 2023 2022 Change 2023 2022 Change
------------ ------ ------ -------- ---------- ---------- -------- ---------- ---------- -------- --------- --------- --------
Average
monthly
actives
(000s) 1,186 1,014 +17% 492 503 -2% 1,679 1,517 +11%
Sportsbook
stakes 607.0 674.5 -10% 394.0 379.6 +4% 248.2 305.9 -19% 1,249.2 1,360.0 -8%
Sportsbook
net
revenue
margin 9.0% 9.8% -0.8ppt 17.9% 18.5% -0.6ppt 7.2% 7.6% -0.4ppt 11.4% 11.7% -0.3ppt
Betting
revenue 54.4 65.8 -17% 70.4 70.1 +0% 17.9 23.2 -23% 142.6 159.0 -10%
Gaming
revenue 102.8 108.6 -5% 55.2 54.0 +2% 104.3 127.7 -18% 262.4 290.4 -10%
Total
revenue 157.2 174.4 -10% 125.6 124.1 +1% 122.2 150.9 -19% 405.0 449.4 -10%
Year to Date ("YTD") 2023
UK&I Online Retail International Group
Unaudited YTD YTD % YTD YTD % YTD YTD % YTD YTD %
GBPm 2023 2022 Change 2023 2022 Change 2023 2022 Change 2023 2022 Change
------------ --------- --------- ------- --------- --------- ------- ---------- ---------- ------- --------- --------- -------
Average
monthly
actives
(000s) 1,211 1,080 +12% 522 523 -0% 1,733 1,604 +8%
Sportsbook
stakes 1,991.9 2,306.9 -14% 1,240.0 1,221.3 +2% 832.7 1,012.8 -18% 4,064.5 4,541.0 -10%
Sportsbook
net
revenue
margin 9.6% 8.9% 0.7ppt 18.8% 18.2% 0.7ppt 8.2% 7.0% 1.2ppt 12.1% 11.0% 1.1ppt
Betting
revenue 190.6 205.5 -7% 233.6 221.9 +5% 68.2 70.8 -4% 492.4 498.2 -1%
Gaming
revenue 302.4 339.8 -11% 171.5 165.7 +4% 320.2 389.0 -18% 794.1 894.5 -11%
Total
revenue 493.0 545.2 -10% 405.1 387.6 +5% 388.5 459.8 -16% 1,286.5 1,392.7 -8%
Note: Subtotals, totals, and percentage changes have been
calculated based on the underlying numbers. Any differences due to
rounding.
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