Americas aid Playtech’s B2B growth as dialogue with Caliplay continues
Published today (22 May), the update covers Playtech’s performance in the four months to 30 April. Playtech does not release quarterly financial results, instead opting to release updates periodically.
During the four months, Playtech says it delivered a “solid” trading performance with strong underlying. This, it adds, is despite the impact of customer-friendly sporting results.
Playtech hails B2B regulated market growth
Looking first at its B2B division, Playtech says this part of the business performed well in the period. It references revenue growth in regulated markets and benefits from tighter cost control as primary drivers of B2B revenue growth.
“Growth in regulated markets was led by the Americas with the US and Canada increasing their contribution, albeit from a small base, while Mexico and Colombia continue to perform well,” Playtech said.
Playtech said it continued to enjoy the benefits of the “rapid expansion” of the live market, while its B2B casino offering showed strength during the period.
In addition, Playtech said its higher margin, less capital-intensive SaaS business showed continued momentum. Within this area, the group posted strong revenue growth, further launches and new customer signings.
B2C growth prospects remain in Italy
Turning to B2C, Playtech mainly focused on the Italy-facing Snaitech brand. According to Playtech, Snaitech performed well on an underlying basis, with wagers showing strength across both the online and retail betting segments.
“This was achieved despite tough comparatives in 2023, which benefitted from pent-up demand post the football World Cup,” Playtech said.
Also on this, the group notes how strong volumes have been partly offset by player-friendly sporting results in Italy. However, Playtech says it remains “well-positioned” to continue to benefit from the structural shift to the higher-margin online business in the country.
“Given the strategic progress being made across the business, the board remains confident in Playtech’s ability to execute on the exciting growth opportunities across both B2B and B2C divisions over the medium term,” Playtech said.
Playtech issues update on Caliplay
Playtech used the trading update to also address the ongoing dispute with Caliplay, a joint venture with Mexico-facing operator Caliente. However, Caliplay is now seeking to end the legal relationship with Playtech.
The dispute has been rumbling on for some time, with Caliplay launching legal proceedings to annul its partnership with Playtech in October. Caliplay says it chose to make the process public as it says it impacts the running of its regulated business in Mexico.
Playtech hit back at the annulment request, announcing steps to resolve the dispute. It also said actions by Caliplay in Mexican court proceedings contravene contractual agreements under an agreement established in 2014.
When announcing its full-year results in March, Playtech has made further claims against Caliplay in terms of unpaid fees.
In its latest update, Playtech reiterates that Caliplay remains a highly important customer and it continues to maintain an open dialogue to discuss a path forward. This is despite the alleged fees owed to Playtech remaining uncollected.
Playtech adds that while it believes it has visibility over substantially all revenue generated by Caliplay, and can confirm Caliplay continues to perform strongly, it has been unable to obtain full financial information from Caliplay during the period.
As such, the revenue generated from the additional B2B services element of the agreement is partly based on an estimation. This, it adds, takes account of prior trends and information provided.