Allwyn International Q3 2022 Preliminary Unaudited Financial Results and Update on Current Trading

29 November 2022

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 and nine months ended 30 September 2022 and provides an update on recent developments and current trading.

  • Consolidated Gross gaming revenue of €958.6m for Q3, +11% YoY, reflecting continuing organic growth
  • Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA of €319.9m, +10% YoY, consolidated Adjusted EBITDA margin of 54%
  • Continued strong growth in online sales - online channel contributed 46% of Gross gaming revenue in the Czech Republic, compared with 39% in Q3 2021
  • Formally awarded the Fourth UK National Lottery licence starting in February 2024
  • In Q4, reached agreement to acquire Camelot UK Lotteries Limited, the current operator of the UK National Lottery
  • In Q4, signed €1.6bn senior financing

Selected consolidated financial data (Q3/Q3)

€ millionsQ3 2022Q3 2021Δ
Gross gaming revenue (“GGR”)958.6867.411%
Net gaming revenue (“NGR”)587.5532.210%
Operating EBITDA314.5281.512%
Adjusted EBITDA319.9290.410%
Adjusted EBITDA margin54%55%-1 p.p.

Selected consolidated financial data (9M/9M)

€ millions9M 20229M 2021Δ
Gross gaming revenue (“GGR”)2,729.62,125.328%
Net gaming revenue (“NGR”)1,672.81,255.833%
Operating EBITDA861.4653.032%
Adjusted EBITDA875.7674.130%
Adjusted EBITDA margin52%54%-2 p.p.

Robert Chvatal, Allwyn CEO, commented:

“This quarter has seen Allwyn deliver yet another set of strong financial results. We have also continued to deliver on our inorganic growth strategies, with some exciting developments in the UK in particular. Our consolidated Gross gaming revenue increased by 11% year-on-year in the third quarter and consolidated Adjusted EBITDA increased by 10%, driven entirely by organic factors – demonstrating once again the resilience of demand for our products and of our business model. We also continue to deliver strong margins and generate robust free cashflows, reflecting our favourable cost structure and focus on cost and capital efficiency. The third quarter and start of the fourth quarter have also seen two milestones in the UK, which is set to become the sixth market where we operate lotteries. In September Allwyn was formally awarded the Fourth Licence to operate the UK National Lottery for a decade starting in February 2024, following the Gambling Commission’s earlier announcement that we were the Preferred Applicant, and on 19 November we announced that we had reached agreement to acquire Camelot UK Lotteries Limited, the current operator of the National Lottery. Common ownership of the operators of both the Third and Fourth Licences will help ensure the successful delivery of the National Lottery both in 2023 and over the next decade. Allwyn is committed to making the National Lottery better, raising more for good causes and improving player protection. This deal strengthens the transition process and helps support Allwyn in achieving its vision for the National Lottery. We have also continued to make good progress on our key organic growth initiatives, in particular in the online channel. For example, the third quarter was another record quarter for online sales in the Czech Republic, with the proportion of our GGR from online increasing by 7% year-on-year and approaching 50% of the total. Our strong operational performance and strategic progress provided a supportive background for the €1.6bn financing which we entered into with a syndicate of international banks on 17 November. The transaction was well supported by our existing lenders, all of whom increased their commitments, as well as several new banks. With a significant extension of our maturity profile, a further increase in the size of our RCF, and term funding for the up-front costs of the UK National Lottery, on attractive terms, the financing positions us well for the next chapters of our growth story.”

Q3 financial review

Our financial performance in Q3 2022 continued to be strong. Our consolidated GGR for Q3 2022 increased by 11% year-on-year to €958.6 million. This was our highest quarterly GGR ever. The GGR growth reflected continuing organic growth of our businesses, primarily driven by the online channel as well as by the very strong performance of our casinos business in Austria. Neither this nor the comparative period has seen any material negative impact from COVID-19. On a pro rata basis, our GGR increased by 12% year-on-year to €733.9 million. Our consolidated Adjusted EBITDA increased by 10% year-on-year to €319.9 million, primarily driven by the strong top-line performance. On a pro rata basis, our Adjusted EBITDA increased by 19% year-on-year to €203.7 million. We note that general consumer sentiment has been impacted by inflationary pressures and the war in Ukraine. However, our business saw only a limited impact 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, with our consolidated Adjusted EBITDA margin at 54%.

Q3 2022 key strategic developments

UK National Lottery

On 20 September, our subsidiary Allwyn Entertainment Ltd was officially awarded the Fourth National Lottery licence to operate the UK National Lottery for a 10 year period starting in February 2024.

OPAP

In Q3 2022, the Company increased its shareholding in OPAP by 1.05% to 49.80% of OPAP’s total shares outstanding (including treasury shares) through open market purchases and participation in OPAP’s scrip dividend programme.

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 to or to purchase securities of Allwyn International a.s. or its subsidiaries or affiliates from time to time. The preliminary results for the three and nine months ended 30 September 2022, 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 third 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 preliminary 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 third quarter financial statement information, which is currently scheduled for December 8, 2022.

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.

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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.