14 May 2009 07:00
Sportech PLC ("Sportech" or "the Company")
AGM and Interim Management Statement
At today's Annual General Meeting of Sportech PLC, the UK's leading football gaming business, Piers Pottinger, Chairman, will make the following statement:
"As stated in the full year results, announced on 24 March 2009, trading for the current period has started well, and we are pleased to report that we continue to build upon the strategic initiatives put into place as the group continues with its turnaround strategy.
Sportech has continued to focus on the modernisation of the core football pools business. As the 2008/9 football season draws to a close, we are pleased to report that the improving trend in customer numbers continues: from the start of the season last August to the end of April, we have seen the lowest loss of customer numbers in recent years, reflecting the successful relaunch and rebranding of the business as The New Football Pools.
Following the launch of Classic Pools and Premier 10 in Ladbrokes shops, we are pleased to announce that we have concluded arrangements with Finsoft, a technology supplier to over 1,000 Licensed Betting Outlets ("LBOs") in the UK and several bookmakers overseas, to facilitate the distribution of our pool products into retails outlets. Integration work is underway, which is expected to be completed this summer. Following this agreement with Finsoft, we have signed distribution agreements with two of Finsoft's UK based LBO clients together with two bookmaker chains in Eastern Europe. More agreements are anticipated shortly.
We have continued to evolve our online business to realise the potential of the world's oldest football gaming business. The new 2009/10 season in August will see the launch of our social gaming network, centered on predicting football results with, and against, friends and colleagues. We are pleased to announce that three leading newspapers have signed Heads of Terms, subject to contract, to integrate this innovative application into their Fantasy Football offering, which when concluded, will make it available to a combined customer base which last year exceeded 400,000.
We continue to invest in our technology infrastructure, business integration and modernisation process. This is proceeding well, is having a positive impact on the business, and is expected to realise material cost savings in 2010.
The strategic partnership with 888 Holdings plc ("888") that commenced with many initial challenges late last year is moving forward. GameOn Bingo and GameOn Quickplay have been launched this year. Football pool products will now be available to customers of 888 within the next 5 weeks.
Our balance sheet remains strong, supported by committed, ten year banking facilities that expire in 2017. There have been no changes in the financial position of the Group since the publication of the Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2008.
We announced on 1 April 2009 that we had submitted a claim for in excess of £40m (plus interest if applicable) to HMRC for the repayment of VAT overpaid in respect of the "Spot The Ball" game. We await further developments on this claim.
We continue to make progress despite the challenging economic environment, and look forward to the future with confidence."
For further details contact:
Ian Penrose, Chief Executive Tel: +44 (0)20 7268 2400
Sportech PLC
David Rydell / Emma Kent / Rosanne Perry Tel: +44 (0)20 7861 3232
Bell Pottinger Corporate & Financial