LONDON (Alliance News) - Gaming services provider Nektan PLC on Monday reported a narrowed pretax loss for the first half of its financial year, on strong double-digit revenue growth.
For the six months to the end of December, Nektan's pretax loss was GBP843,000, narrowed from GBP2.9 million the same period the year before.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, amortisation and deprecation swung to GBP336,000 from a loss of GBP916,000 the prior year.
The narrowed loss came from a 48% rise in revenue to GBP13.0 million from GBP8.8 million, with strong growth in Nektan's Business-to-Business division, and the launch of new casino partners in its white label network.
Nektan said it is still in the process of selling off its major shareholding in its US subsidiary Respin, which the company said would reduce its cash strain. Nektan said it expects the sale to be completed by the end of April.
Looking ahead, Nektan said its business to consumer trading in its third quarter is flat year-on-year due to higher UK regulation and a delayed Swedish operator license affecting first-time deposits in its white label network.
However, the group said its pipeline looks very positive, particularly for regions such as Asia and Africa, and expects to see improved performance on the back of its 152 casino brands in its network.
"Achieving Ebitda break-even during the period is a key milestone for Nektan and our key focus for the remainder of the year is on maintaining and improving profitability. Ebitda break-even was reached due to both increased revenues and operational efficiencies," said Chief Executive Officer Lucy Buckley.
"Whilst we believe in our US mobile casino product, and are excited about the macro trends in the market, the proposed sale of the majority shareholding of our US subsidiary is a major contributor to our profitability plan by removing Nektan funding for the US going forward, but retaining a material stake in the emerging US market," Buckley added.
Shares in Nektan were untraded on Monday, last quoted at 13.08 pence.
