Sales and profits were up in the first half of the year at gaming group NetPlay TV PLC (LON:NPT), with its business-to-business (B2B) unit shining.
The company, which specialises in those gambling games usually seen on late night telly, posted a 15% increase in net revenue to £14.7mln from £12.7mln in the first half of the previous year.
There was a 3% increase in gamers who have money on deposit with the firm, and a similar increase in the number of those who are actively playing on NetPlay’s platform.
Adjusted underlying earnings (EBITDA) surged 31% to £1.7mln from £1.3mlm the previous year, while adjusted profit before tax jumped 30% to £1.4mln from £1.1mln.
The company highlighted a strong contribution from its B2B operating segment with £2.1mln of revenue and £0.4mln of adjusted EBITDA, which it said was ahead of expectations.
The interim dividend was maintained at 0.22p.
“These results show that the momentum delivered in the last year has continued into 2016 and we are very pleased to be reporting growth in overall group revenue and profit,” said Bjarke Larsen, the chief executive of NetPlay.
"The group's operational performance in the period has also been significant with not only the renewal of the ITV relationship, but also product enhancements, new site roll-outs and, post period, the launch of the AppleTV application.
"We set out our growth strategy at the beginning of the year and are focused on continuing to deliver against this. There has been significant M&A [mergers & acquisitions] activity in the industry, and the group, with its solid balance sheet, is well placed to pursue those opportunities that the board believes will be earnings enhancing," Larsen added.
House broker Shore Capital said it was a solid set of results.
Factoring in depreciation, amortisation and interest it is forecasting full-year profit before tax of £2.64mln, which would represent an 18% increase over last year.
“NetPlay holds a unique position in the gaming industry with its TV content enabling the group to deliver attractive acquisition costs and player yields. Furthermore, cash generation is robust and the group retains approaching a third of its market capitalisation in cash,” said Shore analyst Greg Johnson.
“At just 5.7x 2016F EBITDA and 0.6x revenue NetPlay remains a valuation anomaly in our view and we see fair value closer to one times revenue - or 14p per share,” Johnson opined.
The shares were off 0.46p at 8.79p in morning trading.