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888 Holdings PLC on Friday reported a double-digit rise in its annual revenue but suffered a swing to loss due to exceptional costs. Shares were up 17% at 72.05 pence each on Friday morning in London. The Gibraltar-based online betting and gaming company said revenue was £1.24 billion for 2022, up 74% from £712.3 million in 2021, primarily driven by the completion of William Hill acquisition. 888 completed the acquisition of William Hill on July 1 last year. However, it swung to a pretax loss of £115.7 million from a profit of £56.0 million. 888 said it was due to exceptional costs and adjusting items of £184.8 million. ‘[The costs] primarily related to amortisation of acquired intangibles, impairment of historic US goodwill and William Hill technology no longer under development, together with transaction fees for the acquisition of William Hill, and integration and restructuring costs post completion as we began to realise synergies,’ 888 explained. Adjusted basic earnings per share amounts to 15.1p per share, down from 22.2p in 2021. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation amounts to £217.9 million, up from £119.7 million. Chair Jonathan Mendelsohn said: ‘The combination with William Hill transformed the group and brought together two exceptional and complementary businesses to create one of the world’s leading betting and gaming businesses. In 2023 we remain on track to deliver higher profitability as we deliver against our clear strategic priorities. ’ 888 declared no dividend for 2022, compared to 3.2p per share from a year prior. For the first quarter of 2023, revenue is £466 million, down from £469 million a year ago. Looking ahead, 888 expects 2023 revenue to be lower than 2022 by a low to mid single-digit percentage, but adjusted Ebitda to be higher. Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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