The leading tech company in the gambling industry with more than 7,400 employees in 20 countries, Playtech (LSE: PTEC), has published its results for the six months ending June 30.
Overall, the provider of “business intelligence-driven gambling software, services, content, and platform technology across the industry’s most popular product verticals” boasts solid performance in the first half of the year, moving back toward its core strength in B2B operations after disposing of non-core assets, reshaping partner agreements, and strengthening its balance sheet.
B2B Revenue Went Up 6%
Revenue from continuing operations for H1 2025 came in at EUR 387.0 million ($452.4 million), down 10% from the same period last year.
Adjusted EBITDA also declined, landing at EUR 91.6 million ($107 million), signalling a 16% drop. These decreases largely reflect changes in the Caliente Interactive agreement effective March 31 that brought Playtech a 30.8% equity and the sale of Snaitech for roughly EUR 2.3 billion ($2.68 billion), with EUR 1.8 billion ($2.1 billion) paid out to shareholders via a special dividend.
Despite the decrease, some areas performed notably well, including net cash of EUR 77.1 million ($90.1 million) compared to a net debt of EUR 142.8 million ($167 million) at the end of 2024.
Leaving aside the influence of the revised arrangements with Caliente, B2B revenue went up 3%, or 6% on a constant currency basis, mostly due to strong U.S. growth.
At the same time, B2B Adjusted EBITDA from operations increased by 3% in H1 2025 compared to H1 2024, with Playtech mentioning “good cost control partly offset by increased investments in the U.S. and Brazil, as well as FX and other headwinds.”
SaaS revenue also rose 73% to EUR 57.3 million ($67 million), further proving the company’s solid momentum in several countries.
Adjusted investment income reached EUR 19.8 million ($23.1 million) from EUR €1.5 million ($1.75 million) in H1 2024, thanks to the recognition of their share of income of EUR 20.3 million ($23.7 million) from Caliente.
U.S. & Canada Revenue Up 64% YoY
U.S. and Canada revenue rose 64% year-on-year to EUR 21.8 million ($25.4 million), courtesy of a series of important launches with major operators as well as regulatory expansion, including West Virginia. Growth in Live Casino offerings is also part of that momentum, with plans to invest in more studios.
The company also mentioned its ongoing investment in people, highlighted by the U.S. headcount going up by over 500 people at the end of H1, along with the increase in the fair value of its equity investment in Hard Rock Digital to EUR 150.3 million ($175.7 million) as a result of its performance.
Latin America, meanwhile, showed a revenue decline of 32%, influenced by the Caliente agreement and a number of regulatory and tax headwinds in countries like Colombia.
However, when excluding the Caliente effect, underlying revenue in Latin America did show modest growth. Brazil’s transformation into a regulated gambling market is another positive aspect going forward.
“We are excited about growth prospects across a number of soon-to-be regulated markets, including Ireland, New Zealand, and the UAE.”, said CEO Mor Weizer in his review.
Playtech has also been reducing debt by fully repaying a EUR 350 million ($409.1 million) bond early as part of its financial restructuring plan.
Confident in Medium-Term Targets
The company that reported profit after tax of EUR 1,575.7 million from EUR 5.9 million in H1 2024 remains confident in achieving its medium-term targets of EUR 250-300 million ($292-350 million) in Adjusted EBITDA and EUR 70-100 million ($81.8-$116.9 million) in free cash flow.
Weizer said the results “show the strong start Playtech is making in its transition back to its roots as a predominantly pure-play B2B business.”
“I’m very pleased that we have reported earnings ahead of expectations from earlier in the year, reflecting the strong performance across our key markets.”, he added, while explaining they are “well placed to achieve the ambitious medium-term growth targets set out at the FY 2024 results.”