Sportech says it anticipates reporting better than expected figures for 2022 in a pre-close update.
The betting and technology business added that its full-year adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) is set to be “ahead of market consensus”.
The business said it has delivered a strong operational performance since the release of its interim results in September 2022.
Sportech, which also operates gaming venues in the US state of Connecticut, said gross gaming revenues (GGR) for 2022 – including sports betting – continued to perform strongly, while food and beverage revenues delivered solid growth, and group operational costs reduced significantly.
With year-end net cash remaining healthy, Sportech said there is potential to return further capital to shareholders in H1 2023. Its 2022 preliminary results are expected to be published in April 2023.
Richard McGuire, executive chairman of Sportech, said: “The group continues to evolve and deliver new growth opportunities. We are strengthening relationships with our betting partners and aggressively reshaping non-operational costs to align with group scale.”
“The outlook for 2023 and beyond is very positive. We will continue to discuss the future business structure with key shareholders to ensure alignment with the board on objectives and direction for the divisions and group.”
The announcement comes after a torrid few months for Sportech, which saw the departure of several senior figures, including chief executive Andrew Lindley, after just six months in the role, and chief financial officer Nicola Rowlands.
McGuire, who quit as chief executive in September 2021, returned to take leadership of the group as executive chairman in May 2022.
In H1 2022, Sportech said group adjusted EBITDA improved markedly during the period to £0.3m, compared to a loss of £0.9m in H1 2021.
Sportech recorded revenue of £22.9m in 2021, a year in which it sold off many business divisions, with these sales powering the business to a £34.5m profit. In 2021, it sold its Global Tote business to Betmakers and Bump 50:50 to Canadian Banknote in February 2021.
