Stride reveals plans for 2016 expansion

In its preliminary results for 2015, the bingo operator posted net gaming revenue of £27.8m (€39.6m/$42.2m), which was a hike of 227 per cent on the previous year as the company reaped the rewards of a number of major developments.

The increase is due to a series of acquisitions, including Table Top Entertainment in September 2014, gaming platform from Nextec Software for £14.7m as well as Spacebar Media for £6m.

However, Boyd said that the $39.2m purchase of US-facing social gaming operator InfiApps and its AIM listing in May were the key developments of the last 12 months.

“It has been a transformational year for the group and I think we have had two highlights in the period,” Boyd said.

“The first is the listing that took place in May where we raised £11.2m before expenses in an oversubscribed placing. The response to the listing has been extremely positive and the company’s shares have performed very well.

“The other was our acquisition of InfiApps, a profitable internationally focused mobile social gaming company. The acquisition provides us with a strong and profitable presence in the social gaming segment of online gaming across new and international geographies. The acquisition has been immediately earnings enhancing and adds material scale and reach to Stride Gaming's existing operations.”

The owner of Kitty Bingo and Lucky Pants Bingo also revealed adjusted operating profit of £7.3m, up 508 per cent, although profit after tax fell from £800,000 to £400,000.

Gross assets jumped 740% year-on-year to £48.7 million, including cash of £7.4 million, while yield per player from real-money gaming increased 14.3% to £112.

Looking ahead to 2016, Boyd said: “We hope to maintain our strong organic growth, as well as make further selective strategic acquisitions that support our existing operations or that allow us to expand into complementary verticals.

“We hope to further enhance our responsive platform and increase our mobile centric customer base, and make further improvements to our propriety software and the overall gaming experience.

"We also hope to explore opportunities to expand into other international regulated markets, and progress in this regard is already underway through obtaining an Italian gaming license.”