Topline numbers
Social revenue declined by 2% to £1.8m, however.
Adjusted EBITDA climbed 37% to £4.8m for the period, representing an adjusted EBITDA margin of 41%.
This period marked a record performance for the group in terms of revenue and EBITDA, driven by the content licensing business after 12 consecutive half years of growth.
Operational highlights
Gaming Realms also provided a list of operational highlights in today’s H1 financial update, which covered the six-month period to 30 June 2023.
The London-based business launched with 25 new partners globally, including bet365 in the UK, Betway, OLG and LeoVegas in Ontario and PokerStars in the US (New Jersey).
Gaming Realms was also granted a supplier licence in Sweden and has filed further licence applications in both British Columbia and South Africa.
Elsewhere, the firm secured brand licensing agreements for Tetris and Space Invaders, with both games expected to launch some time in H2 2023.
Five new Gaming Realms titles were released into the market during H1, including Slingo Cleopatra and Slingo Money Train, taking the group’s portfolio to more than 70 games.
US outlook
Revenue from North American content licensing increased 37%, with the region now accounting for 45% of overall content licensing revenue (£3.96m).
New Jersey is the supplier’s leading US market, with Pennsylvania and Michigan also displaying strong growth.
As of 30 June 2023, Gaming Realms was live with 57 games in New Jersey across 20 partners, 18 games across 12 partners in Pennsylvania and 28 games across 12 partners in Michigan.
CEO comments
“We have delivered a strong first half performance as we have grown our international licensing business with the launch of our innovative Slingo content to a growing number of partners and players,” said Gaming Realms CEO Mark Segal.
“The group has a strong pipeline of new business and the outlook for the group remains positive.
“We are seeing growth in our existing partnerships coupled with new operator, product and market launches, which gives us great confidence in terms of the longer term prospects for the business,” he added.
Analyst update
In an investor note titled Riding the Slingo money train, London-based brokerage Peel Hunt reiterated its Buy rating for the stock and 60p target price.
It said that current trading was good with core revenue up 20% after the reporting period and tailwinds from licensees, games and markets that are likely to sustain growth.
“It has games and licensees maturing in multiple markets; foundations for multi-year growth ahead,” wrote Peel Hunt analyst Ivor Jones.
“We are not upgrading today but are increasingly confident in our forecasts,” he added.
