Amaya Reports Revenue Growth of 8% in 2015

Canadian gaming firm Amaya Inc has now released its annual financial results, and the news was good with revenues having increased by 8% to C$1.37 billion (approx. US$1.05bn) for 2015. If not for unfavorable fluctuations in the US currency exchange rate, however, that growth rate would have been nearer to 15%, according to a company statement.
In addition to the US dollar’s strength impacting the purchasing power of PokerStars customers, other factors also affecting the company’s bottom line was the introduction of VAT gaming duties in certain jurisdictions, including the UK, as well as the suspension of its operations in other grey markets across the globe. Also significant was Amaya managing to cut its overall debt from US$3.16 billion to US$2.59bn throughout the year, whilst also securing a reduction in the interest rate it pays from 6.38% to 5%.
All told, Amaya made a loss of C$25.9 million in 2015, after having reported positive net earnings of $125.2 million the previous year. Commenting on the company’s performance, Amaya CEO David Baazov explained:
“Despite significant foreign exchange and product rollout challenges, we achieved positive growth on a constant currency basis and, through investments and initiatives that will continue through 2016, have laid the foundation for becoming a leader across multiple gaming verticals.”
This is apparent in a breakdown of the company’s revenues. Despite being the biggest online poker operator in the world, PokerStars has increasingly been diversifying its gambling offerings of late, and while 83% of Amaya’s revenue are currently generated from poker, its remaining business is now accounted for by its casino and sports book products
Finally, the last quarter of 2015 was especially productive for Amaya with year-on-year revenues increasing by an impressive 15% to C$389.5 million. Elaborating on Amaya’s Q4 results, David Baazov stated:
“Our fourth quarter performance demonstrated that the business is operationally strong and our brands are delivering on a sound strategy for growing the business through multiple gaming verticals, particularly through the strength of our emerging real-money online casino offerings and maintaining a market leading high quality consumer experience in our core online poker business.”