Playtech claims it is still owed Caliplay fees as trading update shows “strong underlying trends”
FTSE 250 firm notes full financial performance for JV not currently available as B2B and B2C arms both show positive signs between January and April
Playtech has reported fees owed to the business from its Caliplay JV remain unpaid after it was able to fully ascertain the brand’s financial performance during the first four months of the year.
The FTSE 250 firm released a trading update today, 22 May, for 1 January to 30 April in which bosses highlighted a “solid performance”.
Management also noted that the trading period showed “strong underlying trends, partly offset by the impact of customer-friendly sporting results”.
However, the Mexico-facing Caliplay venture continues to be a source of frustration as Playtech claimed the fees it believes it is owed remain unpaid.
Playtech said Caliplay, its JV with Caliente, continues to be a “highly important customer” with an “open dialogue”.
Aside from the outstanding fees, Playtech confirmed that while the business “continues to perform strongly” it was unable to fully disclose its financial performance as it was unable to obtain the requisite information.
The firm said: “Playtech has been unable to obtain full financial information from Caliplay during the period. As a result, the revenue generated from the additional B2B services element of the agreement is partly based on an estimation, which takes account of prior trends and information provided.”
On the B2B front, while Playtech has not disclosed any figures to qualify operational performance, the firm did say revenue had increased, as well as benefits from tighter cost control being realised.
Growth in regulated markets has been powered by the US and Canada, while the group’s live casino arm has taken “advantage of the market’s rapid expansion, delivering solid growth in the period”.
The B2C side of the business saw Italy-facing brand Snaitech perform well on an underlying basis, although strong volumes were partially offset by customer-friendly sports betting results.
Playtech concluded: “Notwithstanding this, we remain well-positioned to continue to benefit from the structural shift to the higher-margin online business in Italy.
“Given the strategic progress being made across the business, the board remains confident in Playtech’s ability to execute on the exciting growth opportunities across both B2B and B2C divisions over the medium term.”
In March, EGR spoke to Playtech CEO Mor Weizer to discuss the firm’s M&A plans and its investment in Hard Rock Digital.