Allwyn International Q1 2023 Preliminary Unaudited Results and Update on Current Trading

12 June 2023

Allwyn International a.s. (“Allwyn” or the “Company”, and, together with its subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates, the “Group” or “we”) announces its preliminary unaudited financial results for the three months ended 31 March 2023 and provides an update on recent developments and current trading.

  • Consolidated Total Revenue of €1,646.9m, +80% YoY, primarily driven by recent acquisitions; excluding these, consolidated Total Revenue of €1,065.7m, +17% YoY, reflecting continuing organic growth.
  • Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA of €346.7m, +28% YoY, consolidated Adjusted EBITDA margin of 42.7%; excluding recent acquisitions, consolidated Adjusted EBITDA of €325.2m, +20% YoY.
  • Completed acquisitions of Camelot UK Lotteries Limited (“Camelot UK”), the current operator of the UK National Lottery, and the Camelot Lottery Solutions group of companies (“Camelot LS Group”), the current operator of the Illinois Lottery in the United States, under a private management agreement.
  • Consolidated Net debt / Pro forma LTM Adjusted EBITDA of 1.2x as of 31 March 2023.

Selected consolidated financial data (Q1/Q1)

€ millionsQ1 2023Q1 2022Δ
Total revenue1,646.9914.080%
of which: Gross gaming revenue ("GGR")1,588.9875.681%
Net revenue811.2579.1.540%
Operating EBITDA329.4267.423%
Adjustments to EBITDA17.32.5
Adjusted EBITDA346.7269.928%
Adjusted EBITDA margin42.7%46.6%-3.9 p.p.
CAPEX24.519.029%
Adjusted Free cash flow322.2250.928%

In Q1 2023, we completed the acquisitions of Camelot UK, the current operator of the UK National Lottery, and Camelot LS Group, the current operator of the Illinois Lottery under a private management agreement (the “Camelot Acquisitions”). These acquisitions have a significant impact on consolidated metrics of the Group and comparability with previous periods. Differences between the business models of the recent acquisitions and existing operations also results in profit margins not being directly comparable.

On a pro forma LTM basis, Total Revenue would have been €8,395.7 million and Adjusted EBITDA would have been €1,443.5 million.

Robert Chvatal, Allwyn CEO, commented:

“I am pleased to report that Allwyn had a strong start to the year, reflecting our ongoing focus on driving organic growth as well as continued progress in our inorganic growth strategy, with the results of the first quarter including the contribution from a total of seven lottery markets. Meanwhile, we have remained focused on our responsibilities to all our stakeholders and on safer gaming.

Our Total Revenue increased by 80% year-on-year in Q1 2023, reflecting strong growth of 17% in our existing geographies as well as the first-time contributions of the United Kingdom, following the acquisition of Camelot UK, and Camelot LS Group, operator of the Illinois Lottery under a private management agreement.

The strong performance in our existing geographies was driven by further progress in digital channels and our continued focus on the customer proposition in physical retail, as well as some impact from COVID-19 on last year’s numbers. We once again saw the resilience of demand for our products, even in an environment where consumer spending remains under pressure.

We continued to deliver strong margins and to generate robust free cashflow, reflecting our favourable cost structure and focus on cost and capital efficiency.

The completion of two landmark acquisitions in the first quarter underscores our continued success in executing our inorganic growth strategy. The acquisition of Camelot UK, the current operator of the UK National Lottery, supports the successful delivery of the National Lottery through 2023 and over the next decade. The acquisition of Camelot LS Group marks our entrance to the US market as well as providing interesting strategic optionality through its in-house iLottery technology.

Our operational execution, strategic progress and the continued strength of our financial performance supported our successful financing activities after the end of the quarter, with Allwyn issuing €665 million and $700 million long-dated bonds in a single transaction. This financing represented our first US-dollar bond issuance, further diversifying our sources of funding, as well as significantly extending our debt maturities and further simplifying our capital structure.

Overall, I am very pleased with Allwyn’s start to 2023 and believe we are well placed for the rest of 2023 and the next chapters of our growth story.”

Q1 2023 financial review

For the first three months ended 31 March 2023, consolidated Total Revenue increased by 80% year-on-year to €1,646.9 million. This reflected strong organic growth across all our existing markets and product lines, in addition to the first-time contributions of Camelot UK and Camelot LS Group, the acquisitions of which were completed during the quarter.

Excluding the effect of the Camelot Acquisitions (i.e., on a comparable basis), consolidated Total Revenue increased by 17% to €1,065.7 million, driven by further progress in digital channels and our focus on the customer proposition in physical retail, supported by ongoing product and technology innovation, and some impact from Covid-19 in the prior year; and consolidated Adjusted EBITDA increased by 20% to €325.5 million.

On a pro rata basis (in which the Camelot Acquisitions are included for all of Q1 2023), Total Revenue increased by 176% to €2,000.0 million and Adjusted EBITDA increased by 62% to €280.2 million. On a pro forma LTM basis (reflecting pro forma effects of the Camelot Acquisitions), pro rata Adjusted EBITDA was €1,048.9 million.

The business models of the recent acquisitions differ from those of our existing markets; hence, consolidated metrics and margins in the first quarter are not directly comparable to prior periods. Also, as the Camelot Acquisitions completed during the course of the first quarter, the consolidated metrics and margins will not be directly comparable to future quarters.

We note that general consumer sentiment has been impacted by inflationary pressures. However, our business saw only a limited impact, with revenues remaining resilient due to the low price point of our products and low average spend per customer, as well as our large number of regular players.

Our profitability was also supported by the fact that a significant portion of our costs is directly linked to revenues and the low proportion of energy in our cost base.

Q1 2023 key strategic developments

Acquisitions of Camelot UK and Camelot LS Group

In February, the Group acquired and started to consolidate Camelot UK, the current operator of the UK National Lottery under a license that runs until 31 January 2024.

In March, the Group acquired and started to consolidate the Camelot LS Group. The Camelot LS Group operates the Illinois Lottery under a private management agreement through its operating company, Camelot Illinois LLC, partners with the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery to enhance its lottery operations, and includes a technology arm that provides products and services to lotteries and their players in Europe and North America.

Disclaimer

This document does not represent an offer, constitute or form part of, and should not be construed as an advertisement, an offer or an invitation to subscribe for or to purchase securities of Allwyn International a.s. or its subsidiaries or affiliates from time to time. The preliminary unaudited results for the three months to 31 March 2023, are an estimate, based on information available to management as of the date of this release, and are subject to further changes upon completion of the Company’s standard quarter closing procedures. This update does not present all necessary information for an understanding of the Group’s financial condition as of the date of this release, or its results of operations for the first quarter. As the Company completes its quarter-end financial close process and finalizes its financial statements for the quarter, it will be required to make significant judgments in a number of areas. It is possible that the Company may identify items that require it to make adjustments to the financial information set forth above and those changes could be material. The Company does not intend to update such financial information prior to release of its final first quarter financial statement, which is currently scheduled for 14 June 2023.

We present certain unaudited pro rata financial information. The unaudited pro rata financial information included in this document has been prepared by the Company’s management. The unaudited pro rata financial information is not intended to, and does not represent, historical or future performance for any period.

This announcement does not form, and should not be construed as, the basis of any credit analysis or other evaluation, an investment or lending recommendation, advice, a valuation or a due diligence review. This announcement may include forward-looking statements regarding certain of our plans and our current goals, intentions, beliefs and expectations concerning, among other things, our future results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies, pending acquisitions or other transactions, financing plans and the industries in which we operate. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts. Generally, but not always, words such as “may,” “could,” “should,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “plan,” “seek,” “continue,” “target,” “goal,” “would” or their negative variations or similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. We caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that the Group’s actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity and the development of the industries in which we operate may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement. In addition, even if our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity and the development of the industries in which we operate are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this document, those past results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in future periods.

We do not undertake any obligation to review, update or confirm expectations or estimates or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that arise after the date of this document.

No warranty or representation of any kind, express or implied, is or will be made in relation to, and to the fullest extent permissible by law, no responsibility or liability in contract, tort, or otherwise is or will be accepted by us or any of our directors, officers, employees, advisers or agents, or any other party as to the accuracy, completeness or reasonableness of the information contained in this announcement, including any opinions, forecasts or projections. Nothing in this document shall be deemed to constitute such a representation or warranty or to constitute a recommendation to any person to acquire any securities. Any estimates and projections in this announcement were developed solely for our use at the time at which they were prepared and for limited purposes which may not meet the requirements or objectives of the recipient of this announcement. Nothing in this document should be considered to be a forecast of future profitability or financial position and none of the information in the document is or is intended to be a profit forecast or profit estimate. The financial statements included this announcement have not been subject to any review or audit process by our independent auditors and may be subject to change after a review or audit process.

We are not providing advice (whether in relation to legal, tax or accounting issues or otherwise). You should receive legal, tax, accounting and any other necessary advice from your advisors in relation to the contents of this announcement.

This announcement has not been approved by any regulatory authority and does not represent financial statements within the meaning of applicable Czech or other law.