Nektan PLC Q1 Trading Update (3783T)

TIDMNKTN

RNS Number : 3783T

Nektan PLC

12 October 2017

12 October 2017

NEKTAN PLC

("Nektan", the "Company" or the "Group")

Q1 Trading Update

Further Strong Revenue Growth

Nektan plc (AIM: NKTN), a leading international B2B gaming solutions and services provider, provides an update on trading for the three months ended 30 September 2017 (Q1 FY18). The figures stated below are all unaudited.

Managed Gaming Solutions (Europe)

 
                           Q1 FY18     Q1 FY17    Change    Q4 FY17     Change 
-----------------------  ----------  ----------  -------  -----------  ------- 
 Net Gaming Revenue 
  (NGR)                    GBP3.9m     GBP2.1m    88.4%     GBP4.2m     -6.6% 
-----------------------  ----------  ----------  -------  -----------  ------- 
 First Time Depositors 
  (FTDs)                   40,148      14,037     186.0%     42,429     -5.4% 
-----------------------  ----------  ----------  -------  -----------  ------- 
 Cash Wagering            GBP126.7m   GBP56.3m*   125.3%   GBP120.5m*    5.2% 
-----------------------  ----------  ----------  -------  -----------  ------- 
 

*restated

-- In Q1 FY18, Nektan continued to deliver strong growth compared to Q1 FY17, with NGR in the quarter increasing by 88.4%.

-- A significant increase in deposits, compared to Q4 FY17 and set against a reduction in FTDs, shows that the Company is attracting a higher quality of player. A combination of seasonality and a higher pay-out ratio resulted in a modest decrease in NGR compared to Q4 FY17.

-- The Company launched 5 new sites and 1 new partner in Q1 FY18 and is currently running a total of 83 brands with plans to launch 10 new sites with 4 new partners during the current quarter to 31 December 2017. The benefits of this expansion are already evident during the early part of Q2 FY18.

-- In Q1 FY18, Nektan launched 42 new games with 4 games vendors taking the Group's total mobile games portfolio to over 350.

-- The Company continues to penetrate further into the Swedish market and is launching a new localised casino proposition during Q2 FY18.

B2B

-- The Company expects to announce its first platform deal in relation to its B2B business in the next month. The core Nektan Evolve technology will be utilised to deliver a mobile casino games platform in up to 23 countries with the business partner responsible for B2B localised licensing. The solution is expected to be live before the end of the calendar year. Nektan sees this as a very important development and part of its strategy to diversify into newer geographic markets outside Europe.

On-Premise Gaming (North America)

-- Interest in Rapid Games' "On-Premise" mobile gaming solution continues to grow and the product is currently going through internal review and approval processes in several US tier 1 tribal casinos.

-- Respin continues to expand its Rapid Games product offering with recent approvals for a number of new games in both its class II and class III portfolios as well as being one of the only operators to receive platform certifications for GLI 16, 26, 21 and 11 regulations allowing it to be one of the first companies to offer mobile casino in the US.

-- The Company has entered into multiple strategic content partnerships to further enhance its games portfolio and is in the process of adding multiple "smart table" solutions to its approved client library.

Gary Shaw, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Nektan, said:

"Our core European business continued to progress in Q1 FY18 as expected. The proposed launch of new commercial partners during the current quarter will see that growth continuing. Our strategy to leverage our core technology asset Evolve into further geographically diversified markets through platform licensing deals will see the business develop into one of the first gaming technology businesses with its platform live across three major continents. I am particularly pleased with the progress being made in the US where our investment positions Nektan as one of the first movers in mobile casino gaming."

For further information on the Group, please contact:

 
Nektan                                via Newgate below 
 Gary Shaw, Interim Chief Executive 
 Officer 
 Patrick Sinclair, Chief Financial 
 Officer 
Stockdale Securities Limited 
 Tom Griffiths / Ed Thomas            [phone] 
 
  Newgate (PR Adviser)                  [phone] / + 44 7747 113 
  James Benjamin                        930 
                                        Email: [e-mail] 
 
 

Further information on Nektan can be found on the Group's website at www.nektan.com

About Nektan:

Nektan is a leading international B2B mobile gaming solutions and services provider, operating in the regulated, interactive real money gaming (RMG) gaming space, delivering original and innovative solutions to commercial organisations that have established online audiences.

Nektan's full end-to-end technology platform, Evolve, simplifies and supports the route to mobile and desktop gaming revenues, managing the full customer experience and back-office operations, allowing commercial partners to focus on marketing the product to their consumers.

Nektan's US operating subsidiary, provides US land-based casinos with in-venue mobile gaming solutions which allow operators to add mobile technology and content to their existing offerings, with products accessible to players across both cabinets and mobile devices inside the casinos. Respin has a strong intellectual property portfolio including game patents for Rapid Games(TM) (on-property mobile entertainment), and other captivating concepts and brands.

Nektan is headquartered in Gibraltar, regulated by the Gibraltar Licensing Authority and the UK Gambling Commission, as well as in the Irish market and maintains sales and customer support operations in its two primary geographical targets, Europe and North America. The proprietary Evolve technology is developed and maintained by a talented and experienced team of employees from Nektan's Indian office.

Nektan plc was admitted to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in November 2014.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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October 12, 2017 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)