Nektan PLC Q1 Trading Update (7531C)

TIDMNKTN

RNS Number : 7531C

Nektan PLC

03 October 2018

3 October 2018

NEKTAN PLC

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

Q1 TRADING UPDATE - RECORD QUARTERLY REVENUES

Nektan plc (AIM: NKTN), an international gaming technology platform and services provider, is pleased to announce another record quarter for the first three months of the financial year ending 30 June 2019 (Q1 FY19).

Nektan delivers premium and compliant gaming content to gaming sites worldwide, via its proprietary technology platforms Evolve (B2C) and E-Lite (B2B). This latest quarter has delivered stronger than expected growth leading to record quarterly revenues.

The figures stated below are all unaudited.

Managed Gaming Solutions (Europe)

 
                              Q1 FY19     Q4 FY18    Change*    Q1 FY18    Change* 
--------------------------  ----------  ----------  --------  ----------  -------- 
 Net Gaming Revenue (NGR)     GBP6.4m     GBP5.7m     12.6%     GBP3.9m     64.6% 
--------------------------  ----------  ----------  --------  ----------  -------- 
 First Time Depositors 
  (FTDs)                      38,981      43,289     -10.0%     40,148      -2.9% 
--------------------------  ----------  ----------  --------  ----------  -------- 
 Cash Wagering               GBP178.3m   GBP162.9m    9.4%     GBP126.7m    40.7% 
                            ----------  ----------  --------  ----------  -------- 
 

*calculated using underlying, non-rounded figures

Highlights

   --      KPIs Update: 

o In Q1 FY19 Nektan delivered record NGR and Cash Wagering figures, during the summer months, traditionally a quieter time for gaming activity, especially one that included the World Cup.

o The Group's strong growth in NGR has continued, growing 12.6% in Q1 FY19 versus Q4 FY18 and 64.6% versus Q1 FY18.

o The dip in FTDs during Q1 FY19 is due to an increasing focus on maximising player life time values which will improve profitability going forward for Nektan and its partners.

   --      Gaming Distribution Update: 

o Nektan launched multiple new sites and is now delivering gaming content to a record number of 143 global casino brands in Q1 FY19.

o The Group's pipeline of additional casino brands from both existing and new UK and international partners remains strong.

   --      Gaming Content Update: 

o Nektan's platform has over 700 games (over 500 in Q4 FY18, an increase of 40%) from a total of 27 games providers, underlining the diversified nature of Nektan's large gaming content portfolio.

   --      Nektan remains on course to become EBITDA break-even in Europe by the end of FY19. 

B2B

-- As previously reported, via the E-Lite platform, Nektan's B2B business is seen as an area of significant growth potential and higher margin, which in the past three quarters has provided quarter-on-quarter growth of 77%, 27% with Q1 FY19 delivering revenue of GBP142k, growth of 35% versus GBP105k in Q4 FY18.

   --      Nektan now has a total of 14 deals live globally compared with 12 in Q4 FY18. 

-- The first global platform deal with Tyche Digital ("Tyche") now has 14 sites live from 10 operators and has experienced double digit month on month growth in Q1 FY19, albeit off a low base. In addition, there is a significant pipeline of further integrations expected over the coming months, where Nektan is benefiting from its speed of integration and breadth of premium content and games offering.

   --      432 games are now live on E-Lite from a total of 13 games providers. 

North America

-- In Q1 FY19, Nektan has completed back-end integration, regulatory approval and white label customisation with a major tier-one operator for launch in-venue in Q2 FY19.

-- Metric Gaming's full-service Race and Sports betting platform has now been integrated into the Evolve platform, giving Nektan a wider product offering in the US.

-- Using its development team based in India, Nektan has completed the development of four third-party games for launch on Nektan's Evolve platform in both the US, through its US brand Rapid Games, and in Europe.

-- With the recent Supreme Court Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act ("PASPA") ruling, the Board is seeing significant interest in the US market. The Board continues to review its options in the US, which include expressions of interest to invest directly into the US business unit, with the objective of reducing the cash burden on Nektan within the next two quarters.

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

"Q1 FY19 has been very strong and we have seen accelerating growth momentum across all business lines. We are on course to be EBITDA positive in Europe by the end of this financial year. Since becoming a public company in 2014, Nektan has seen only one quarter-on-quarter decline in revenue, which was during this usually quieter period of activity in the same period last year, so we are very encouraged to see such a positive quarter and expect this success to continue.

Given the past few quarters of continual expansion in content provision and our significant build-up of global partnerships, we are now within striking distance of our ambition to be the dominant provider of premium gaming content in the industry. We will continue to build our portfolio of content which, combined with speed of content delivery into partners' live gaming sites globally, makes Nektan's offering a very attractive proposition. We are adding more cutting-edge content and channelling this not only to more partners, but bigger partners too. Nektan is live in more jurisdictions and languages than ever before and, in particular, our Asia business, is scaling substantially as our technology is applied by more partners.

We are very confident that Nektan is in an excellent position to capitalise on the solid technological foundation we have built. Our B2B division in particular is bringing a wealth of international opportunities from tier-one partners. In addition, our North America division is making progress and is due to go live shortly with a tier-one operator. We are positioned to take advantage of the opening up of the sector in the United States with a pipeline of upcoming opportunities."

For further information on the Group, please contact:

 
Nektan 
 Gary Shaw, Interim Chief Executive Officer 
 Patrick Sinclair, Chief Financial Officer        [phone] 
 
Stockdale Securities Limited (Nominated Advisor 
 and Joint Broker) 
 Tom Griffiths / Ed Thomas                        [phone] 
 
Smaller Company Capital Limited (Joint Broker) 
 Rupert Williams / Jeremy Woodgate                [phone] 
 
Nominis Advisory (PR Adviser)                     [phone] 
 Angus Campbell                                    Email: [e-mail] 
 
 

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

About Nektan:

Nektan is an international B2B and white label gaming software and services provider, operating in the regulated, interactive real money gaming (RMG) 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 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 news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact [e-mail] or visit www.rns.com.

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October 03, 2018 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)