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By Yadarisa Shabong
March 19 (Reuters) - Europeans stuck at home because of the
coronavirus may not have any sports events to bet on, but they
are playing more poker and bingo online to relieve the boredom,
online gambling software provider Playtech said on
Thursday.
The company, the world's biggest supplier of technology for
online gaming operators but now also a major gambling platform
in its own right, said it was taking a major hit from the
halting of sports events across the world.
Like hundreds of other listed firms, it laid out a series of
steps to reinforce company finances for the months ahead,
worried by the impact on the economy and household finances of
coronavirus shutdowns across the world.
The delays in rolling out major sporting events have
extracted a heavy toll on its B2B division, which is expected to
book a loss of 4 million euros per month to adjusted earnings
before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).
Shares of the London-listed firm, which has had two-thirds
of their value wiped off this year, were down more than 8% as of
0930 GMT.
Playtech's poker and bingo businesses saw an increase in
activity in recent days due to restrictions on movement imposed
by governments. However, it added that there was a risk that
player behaviour could change the longer the crisis continues.
On the bright side, the company said its trading platform
and payment services business has benefited from the rise in
market volatility and brought in core profit of over 30 million
euros ($32.5 million) so far in 2020.
Playtech's Snaitech unit, Italy's biggest sports betting
firm, was already hurt by lockdown measures imposed in the
country, worst hit by the crisis in Europe, and the company said
on Thursday that had been worsened by the postponements of
sports events.
Playtech suspended all shareholder returns, both dividends
and stock buybacks, to conserve cash amid uncertainty over the
global economic outlook.
"Even if the current level of disruption continues for a
prolonged period, the group has enough liquidity to last it well
into the second half of 2021," Goodbody gaming & leisure analyst
Gavin Kelleher, said in a note.
The company warned in January that 2020 results would be
below market expectations because of a major hit to its two
largest markets, Asia and Italy, from the coronavirus.
($1 = 0.9220 euros)
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy
Caren Daniel, Anil D'Silva and David Evans)
