20 May 2010 07:00
| Date: | 20 May 2010 |
| On behalf of: | NetPlayTV plc ('the Company' or 'NetPlayTV') |
NetPlayTV plc
Trading update
·; Trading results for the quarter ended 31 March 2010 are positive and in line with market expectations
·; Gross bets for Q1 2010 of £166 million an increase of 5.7% compared to Q4 2009 and 32% compared to Q3 2009
·; Additional UK terrestrial TV airtime expenditure totalling £1.2m in Q4 2009
·; Full year results for 2009 in line with market expectations
·; Reported EBITDA expected to be approximately £(850k) reflecting changes in accounting treatment of certain expenses
·; Full year results to 31 December 2009 and a detailed trading update will be announced in the first week of June 2010
NetPlay TV plc (AIM: NPT), the interactive gaming company is pleased to announce that the Company has moved to a positive EBITDA of £200k for the first quarter of 2010, and confirms it is trading in line with expectations for the year. Gross bets for the period were £166 million, an increase of 5.7% over Q4 2009, and an increase of 32% compared to Q3 2009 (the quarter with no terrestrial transmission).
The swing to a positive EBITDA is a major step forward for the Company; it follows a period of heavy investment during the second half of 2009, and into the first quarter of 2010 as the Company entered into a number of significant partnerships with UK terrestrial broadcasters. The first quarter of 2010 also saw the Company restructure various parts of its business including moving the Supercasino.com brand from the UK to Alderney at the end of February 2010. The full financial benefit of this move will take effect from Q2 2010.
As a direct result of entering into partnership deals with STV, and Five, the Company incurred additional TV airtime expenditure of £1.2m in Q4 2009. Due to the materiality of the expense, the Directors have written all of this expenditure off in the month it was incurred bringing the accounting treatment in line with IFRS reporting. It should be noted that due to the strong retention of customers acquired, revenue associated with this expenditure will flow over a period of up to 12 months. The net effect on 2009 reported EBITDA of this treatment, along with certain other non-cash items including foreign exchange losses, is estimated to be approximately £(750k).
The full financial results of the Company will be announced during the first week of June when we also expect to be able to update the market on the early trading of the ITV1 partnership.
- Ends -
Enquiries:
| NetPlayTV plc | www.NetPlayTV.plc.uk |
| Martin Higginson, Chief Executive Officer | Via Redleaf |
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| Redleaf Communications | Tel: 020 7566 6700 |
| Emma Kane / Mike Ward | NetPlayTV@redleafpr.com |
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| Panmure Gordon | |
| Dominic Morley / Stuart Gledhill | Tel: 020 7459 3600 |
Notes to Editors:
§ Publication photographs are available from Redleaf Communications or www.redleafpr.com
About NetPlayTV plc
NetPlayTV TV plc is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (NPT). NetPlayTV TV operates a number of interactive gaming services under UK, Malta and Alderney gaming licenses, including SuperCasino.com, ChallengeJackpot.com and Bingos.com. These services can also be viewed 24 hours a day live on Sky Channel 866 and 867, every evening on the terrestrial channels, Five, and STV, plus Freeview on Virgin 1, 1am - 4am and Bravo 2 and 24/7 on Virgin Media channel 141.
The Company is focused on the delivery of a converged interactive gaming experience allowing its customers to interact with its games on a variety of platforms, TV, Internet and mobile from a common integrated wallet.