Newgioco reports full year 2018 results

Newgioco Group, a sports betting and gaming technology company providing regulated online and land-based gaming and wagering through licensed subsidiaries in Italy and Austria, and headquartered in Toronto, Canada reported Thursday its financial and operating results for the 12 months ended December 31, 2018.

Full Year 2018 Financial and Business Highlights

• Revenue of $34.6 million, up 51.2%
• Gross gaming revenue (GGR) of $37.7 million, up 60.8%
• Handle of $413.2 million, up 89.1%
• Income from operations of $427,274, down 83.5% due to $3.1 million in non-recurring expenses including $1.0 million in investments for future growth, $1.6 million relating to legacy activities and items outside the normal course of business and $500,000 for executive compensation forgone in prior years
• Net loss of $3.05 million compared to net income of $1.4 million in 2017
• Adjusted EBITDA of $3.6 million compared to $2.6 million in 2017
• Accelerated roll out in rapidly developing U.S. sports betting market
• Significant progress made in strengthening management team and board of directors

"Newgioco generated more than $413 million in total handle in 2018, an 89.1% improvement over 2017 volume, demonstrating our continued, strong growth," commented Michele Ciavarella, Newgioco Chief Executive Officer. "Our web-based handle grew 120.9% to $235.9 million, becoming our largest revenue stream. In addition, regulated products like online poker and online casino, continue to grow rapidly, reducing the impact of volatility from our sports betting revenue. As this trend continues, the quarter-to-quarter impact of sports betting on our profitability should decrease, giving us greater visibility and predictability into our quarterly revenues."

"On the sportsbook side, the fourth quarter, while favorable for bettors, was a challenging one for the industry operators, and December especially so, resulting in abnormally low conversion ratios," added Mr. Ciavarella. "However, our industry leading risk management capabilities enabled Newgioco to maintain hold ratios which far exceeded industry averages. Looking into 2019, we are expecting our handle exclusively from Italian operations to exceed $500 million. Growth from other geographies, regulated web-based revenue streams and software service fees in the U.S. and other markets are expected to be incremental to this baseline, helping accelerate our overall growth rates as we harvest the investments of the last year."

"In the second-half of 2018, and especially in the fourth quarter, we increased our investments in anticipation of accelerating near-term growth," concluded Mr. Ciavarella. "This included investments in our U.S. operation, a more expansive trade show presence and schedule, our expanded sales office in Naples, Italy, and our expanded risk management facility in Teramo, Italy, as well as the addition of six new vice presidents that recently joined Newgioco along with our new Chief Financial Officer. We expect these growth-related investments, which totaled more than $2 million in expenses in 2018, to drive accelerating growth in 2019 and beyond. In addition, we incurred $2.1 million in non-recurring charges, including $1.1 million in non-cash expenses, related to our convertible debentures, $508,000 in non-recurring charges and $500,000 for executive compensation forgone in prior years, which impacted our 2018 profitability."

"With most of the investments behind us and our ELYS platform now fully developed, we believe we are poised for accelerated growth in 2019," added Mr. Ciavarella. "We expect to add two to three U.S. tribal and/or non-tribal casinos as SaaS customers by the end of 2019, with a target of approximately 50,000 active U.S. domiciled players. With continued, steady growth in Italy, opportunities to expand in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America, and this greenfield opportunity in the U.S., we believe continued revenue growth is achievable and will lead to improved operating margins."

Full Year 2018 Financial Summary

Revenue:

For the full year 2018, revenue was $34.6 million, an increase of $11.7 million or 51.2%, compared to revenue of $22.9 million 2017. The revenue increase was mainly attributable to a significant increase in handle partially offset by a shift in gaming mix.

General and Administrative Expenses:

General and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2018 were $10.0 million compared to $5.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, an increase of 78.7%. The increase was primarily due to significant investments in growth of $1 million in technology development, marketing, legal and other professional fees in support of the company's expansion to the U.S., $1 million related to legacy activities, $609,000 related to items outside the normal course of business and $500,000 for executive compensation that was forgone in prior years.

Direct Selling Costs:

Direct selling costs represent the fees paid to the company's network service provider, license fees and commissions for field agents and promoters and are based on percentage of handle (turnover). For the year ended December 31, 2018 direct selling costs were $24.1 million compared to $14.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, an increase of 64.5%. The increase was primarily due to the significant increase in handle.

Interest Expense:

Net interest expense was $2.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, including $2.0 million of Non-cash interest associated with debentures issued in 2018. The increase from $482,000 in 2017 was the result of interest expense incurred on debentures issued in 2018.

Net Income (Loss):

As a result of all of the above, for the year ended December 31, 2018, net loss was $3.0 million, or ($0.04) per diluted share based on a weighted average of 75,887,946 shares outstanding. In comparison, for the year ended December 31, 2017 the company reported net income of $1.4 million, or $0.02 per diluted share based on a fully-diluted weighted average shares outstanding of 75,344,948. Net loss for the period included $1.1 million in costs related to the repayment of convertible notes, and $1 million in investments related to the U.S. launch and product readiness efforts. In addition, the 2018 net loss included $300,000 in reimbursement for the CEO's relocation to the United States to support the U.S. launch, $308,000 in costs directly related to product readiness and the expansion of offices to support future growth, and $500,000 in compensation catch-up related to executive salary forgone in prior years.

Other Comprehensive Income / (Loss):

For the year ended December 31, 2018 the Company recorded an expense of approximately $831,000 for foreign currency translation adjustment, compared to income of approximately $166,000 for foreign currency translation adjustment for the year ended December 31, 2017.

Adjusted EBITDA:

Excluding the $3.1 million in charges described above, adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2018 was $3.6 million compared to $2.6 million for the full year 2017. A reconciliation from Comprehensive Income (Loss), as shown in the company's Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss), to Adjusted EBITDA is included in the tables of this press release.

Balance Sheet Summary

The Company had $6.3 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2018 compared to $6.5 million as of December 31, 2017. The Company also increased its Restricted Cash by approximately $1 million from $588,000 to $1.6 million.

Total debt outstanding was $5.4 million as of December 31, 2018 compared to $2.2 million as of December 31, 2017.