888 Holdings posts 52% revenue rise for full year 2020

888 Holdings posted higher annual adjusted core earnings on Thursday and signalled strong momentum in 2021 so far, as more people shifted to online betting during coronavirus restrictions.

The company flagged an annualised hit of $70 million to $100 million from regulatory and compliance changes to its revenue, but said it was confident of posting revenue growth in 2021 and would pay a total dividend per share of 18 cents for 2020, compared with 6 cents in the previous year.

The company posted adjusted core earnings of $155.6 million for the year ended Dec. 31, compared with $92.1 million in the previous year.

While the pandemic has disrupted sporting events, online betting has surged as people try out different avenues to keep themselves occupied during lockdowns.

The gambling group said it acquired about 1.5 million new members in 2020 across its business-to-customer brands, which includes casino, poker, sport and bingo, representing a 42% jump over the prior year.

Itai Pazner, CEO of 888, commented: "2020 was a landmark year for 888, with our team navigating the many challenges presented by a global pandemic to deliver record financial results, and significant progress against our strategic priorities. Our product-leadership strategy delivered outstanding results in 2020, with the launch of our ground-breaking Control Centre, our first ever in-house sportsbook, and a totally new poker platform. Our focus on delivering safe, intuitive, content-rich and entertaining products is helping us to deliver a differentiated customer experience and supporting our market share gains in key regulated markets.

"We welcomed a record number of new members to our brands, nearly one and a half million, with our
differentiated products and our big data supporting highly effective marketing. We are pleased with our continued progress in the U.S., and with three new states set to launch in 2021, we are poised to see the scale benefits of our investments here. We enter 2021 with strong momentum, with a record level of customers, and with a positive reaction to our suite of new products and innovations. As a result, as well as the Group’s strengths as a product-centric, responsible, and diversified operator, the Board believes that 888 has an outstanding platform to deliver continued strategic progress during 2021 and beyond," concluded.

Financial Highlights - See full Report

• Group revenue increased 52% to $849.7 million (2019: $560.3 million)
• Revenue from regulated and taxed markets represented 73% of Group revenue (2019: 74%),
  with revenue from regulated markets increasing 58%
• B2C revenue increased 53% to $814.3 million (2019: $530.5 million), with strong growth in
  casino (63%), sport (36%), poker (48%) and bingo (10%)
• Adjusted EBITDA of $155.6 million (2019: $92.1 million), with the Adjusted EBITDA margin at
  18.3% (2019: 16.4%)
• Adjusted profit before tax of $116.0 million (2019: $53.2 million); Profit before tax of $26.7
  million (2019: $45.3 million)
• Adjusted basic earnings per share of 27.3c (2019: 13.5c), Basic earnings per share of 3.1c (2019:
  11.3c)
• Final dividend of 12c per share (2019: 3.0c) bringing the total for the year to 18c (2019: 6.0c)
• The Group continues to have a strong balance sheet, with cash and cash equivalents of $190million (2019: $96.9 million)