Nektan PLC Q4 Trading Update (5028T)

TIDMNKTN

RNS Number : 5028T

Nektan PLC

04 July 2018

4 July 2018

NEKTAN PLC

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

Q4 Trading Update

RECORD QUARTER AND FULL YEAR TRADING ACROSS B2C AND B2B

Nektan plc (AIM: NKTN), an international B2B and white label gaming software and services provider, announces its trading and business update for the three months and year ended 30 June 2018 (Q4 FY18 and FY18). The figures stated below are all unaudited.

Managed Gaming Solutions (Europe)

 
                           Q4 FY18     Q3 FY18    Change*    Q4 FY17    Change*     FY18        FY17      Change* 
-----------------------  ----------  ----------  --------  ----------  --------  ----------  ----------  -------- 
 Net Gaming Revenue 
  ("NGR")                  GBP5.7m     GBP5.1m     10.9%     GBP4.2m     36.7%    GBP19.4m    GBP13.1m     48.1% 
-----------------------  ----------  ----------  --------  ----------  --------  ----------  ----------  -------- 
 First Time Depositors 
  ("FTDs")                 43,289      36,359      18.5%     42,425      1.5%      156,703     130,105     20.4% 
-----------------------  ----------  ----------  --------  ----------  --------  ----------  ----------  -------- 
 Cash Wagering            GBP162.9m   GBP142.4m    14.3%    GBP120.5m    34.0%    GBP559.8m   GBP390.3m    43.4% 
-----------------------  ----------  ----------  --------  ----------  --------  ----------  ----------  -------- 
 

*calculated using underlying, non-rounded figures

-- Nektan continued its momentum and delivered very strong growth, with record NGR in Q4 FY18 of GBP5.7m, increasing by 10.9% compared to Q3 FY18 and by 36.7% versus Q4 FY17.

-- This final quarter performance ensured that the full year NGR was GBP19.4m, increasing by 48.1% from GBP13.1m the previous year.

-- FTDs continued to grow strongly to 43,289, increasing by 14.3% versus the previous quarter and by 20.4% year on year.

-- Cash wagering of GBP162.9m in Q4 FY18 increased by 14.3% versus Q3 FY18 and was GBP559.8m for FY18 up 43.4% versus FY17.

-- Nektan launched 13 new sites and gained four new partners in Q4 FY18. The Company is now operating with a total of 113 brands from 55 partners. The Group has a strong pipeline of new brands from both existing and new partners to be launched during the current quarter with growth expected from the UK as well as internationally, the latter being an important part of Nektan's strategy going forward.

-- Nektan's platform has over 500 games from 24 games providers, underlining the diversified nature of Nektan's games portfolio.

B2B

-- The B2B business is becoming a significant part of Nektan's future global strategy which is being achieved by leveraging the Evolve platform into new, significantly higher margin business lines as the Company moves towards EBITDA break-even in Europe, which is expected during FY19.

-- Nektan generated GBP105k in revenue from the B2B business during Q4 FY18 versus GBP83k in Q3 FY18 with a total of 12 deals now live globally versus 9 in Q3 FY18.

-- The first global platform deal with Tyche Digital ("Tyche") now has four partners live and a significant pipeline of further integrations expected over the coming months, where we are benefiting from our speed of integration and breadth of content offering.

-- Nektan has made its proprietary remote gaming server ("RGS") available to third party games studios who can integrate their content directly onto it. This strategic move has created an opportunity to work with leading industry partners to produce premium content with higher margins.

-- The Group is in discussions with a number of industry partners to integrate E-Lite on a platform to platform basis in the next two quarters which would be an additional global revenue stream for the Group.

On-Premise Gaming (North America)

-- Nektan's US subsidiary, Rapid Games(TM) ("Rapid") has continued to grow its game portfolios and will go live with its second northern Californian on-premise mobile gaming partner during July 2018.

-- The addition of Metric Gaming's full service Race and Sports offering to Rapid's platform is driving significant interest from new markets.

-- Nektan is currently reviewing its strategic options in the US and has had a number of expressions of interest to invest in Rapid. The Board will provide an update in due course.

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

"We are delighted with Nektan's continuing revenue growth, increasing 48% in the year to 30 June 2018. We expect to continue to build on this strong momentum in the year ahead.

We see the business continuing to strengthen further and growth opportunities within both existing markets and, most encouragingly, in the rapidly accelerating demand for our technology from international partners, especially in Asia. In addition, with our licensed US mobile gaming platform, we are very well placed to take advantage of the huge opportunity presented by the opening up of the sector in the United States.

Nektan is currently live in 37 countries across Europe, Asia and North America. We have developed from a UK-centric business into a global technology company, delivering to our partners operational gaming capability with speed and flexibility across multiple markets.

We look forward to announcing further progress in the coming months."

For further information on the Group, please contact:

 
Nektan 
 Gary Shaw, Interim Chief Executive Officer 
 Patrick Sinclair, Chief Financial Officer    [phone] 
 
  Stockdale Securities Limited 
  Tom Griffiths / Ed Thomas                     [phone] 
 
  Newgate (PR Adviser)                          [phone] / +44 7747 
  James Benjamin                                113 930 
                                                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) 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 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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July 04, 2018 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)