Playtech Q3 Results Up 12% Year On Year; Q4 Starts Well

Playtech Ltd, the online gaming software company founded in 1999, has just posted its Q3 results which shows gross income at EUR31.9 million, up 12% from the EUR28.4 million posted in the same period in 2008.
Despite the figure being down 4% from the EUR33.1 posted in Q2 2009, the company says its figures were impacted by “unfavourable sporting results,” resulting in lower betting margins coming from William Hill Online (WHO), and that Q4 has started more favourably.
Playtech acquired a share in William Hill Online following their October 2008 online gaming licence agreement and EUR4 million of the Q3 gross income of EUR31.9 million came from WHO. This in turn impacted the nine months leading up to Sept 2009 which saw the company’s gross income increase 24% on the 2008 same period figures from EUR80 million to EUR98.8 million.
Poker revenue over the last 9 months has witnessed an 18% increase while casino revenue has fallen by 2%.
The overall results were received favourably by the city of London and in early trading Playtech shares were valued at 347p or up 1.46%. Daniel Stewart analyst James Hollins says the shares are “significantly undervalued” and rates the stock as a buy with a 496p target price. “Overall, this is a solid set of figures, with margin out performance and strong current trading firmly underpinning our estimates,” he added.
Playtech struck an optimistic note going forward and said: “New licensee development continues, reflecting Playtech’s continued progress with its core regulated markets strategy. This trading improvement, together with anticipated revenues from new licensees, confirms the board’s expectation of better trading conditions in the final quarter of the year.”