Analysts at Peel Hunt Investment Bank recently highlighted Playtech’s good performance and said its long-term strategies are paying off. Positive underlying trends in its B2B and B2C businesses are driving performance despite certain hurdles it is encountering. It has been involved in a legal dispute with Caliplay, one of its major Latin American partners. Investors and shareholders are still confident that the company will achieve its strategic goals this year.
Playtech’s B2B division performs well
Playtech started as a business-to-business (B2B) software company that focuses on selling technology to gambling operators. This remains a key part of the group. Playtech’s B2B division showed good performance in the first quarter of 2024. A performance improvement came from the growth of regulated market revenue and better cost control. Regulated market improvements in North and South America have been growing. Canada, the U.S., and Latin America were top performers in company revenue over the four months.
Live products have expanded quickly, and growth was solid over the four months. Live casinos in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey benefit from using Playtech’s live products. Players can interact with live dealers who deal cards and spin the wheel. They can communicate with other players via chat, which brings a social element to online gaming. This creates an experience similar to playing casino games like blackjack, poker, and roulette in a brick-and-mortar casino.
Software as a service (SaaS) contracts offer a regular income stream for Playtech. It keeps launching new products and signing up new customers.
B2C business suffers from headwinds
Playtech’s Snaitech B2C business, which operates in Italy, attracted significant betting and gaming volume over the first quarter. There was strong wagering across both the retail and online sectors. These strong volumes were partially offset by customer-friendly sports betting results in Italy.
The B2C business is still well-positioned to benefit from a shift to higher-margin online business in Italy. It has a cutting-edge approach that makes Snaitech an innovative leader in gambling and sports betting. AI innovations are opening up new possibilities in sectors like gambling.
Non-payment of Caliplay fees
Playtech’s largest client in Mexico, Caliplay, has been performing strongly. However, Caliplay is currently in a legal dispute with Playtech. As a result of the dispute, Playtech has not received fees. The court mandated they be paid into a trust account instead. Playtech has found it challenging to get complete financial data from Cali Play but is confident in its understanding of most of the company’s revenue streams. The analysts at Peel Hunt are fairly convinced that the case will settle favorably.
Other Playtech news
Playtech is confident in its ability to capitalize on growth opportunities in the future, and economic predictions show that global recovery is steady but slow. Peel Hunt has upgraded Playtech’s stock rating to ‘buy.’ This signals to investors that business will be good for the company in the coming months. Playtech has been securing various new and important partnerships in countries such as the Netherlands and Finland.
Doreen Tan will join the Playtech Board as an independent non-executive director in July 2024. Her work at leading world financial institutions for 30 years has given her a wealth of experience she can contribute to the company.
