Oscar Iglesias
Analyst · Stifel. Please go ahead
Thanks Aviv. Turning now to the financial performance for the quarter on Page 10. Consolidated Net Gaming Revenue grew by 39% to €54 million. This growth was driven primarily by our Mexican business, which continued to outperform our internal expectations with growth of 57% to €28 million. In Spain, meanwhile, we also continue to deliver significant growth, with net gaming revenue up 25% to nearly €22 million. Adjusted EBITDA was positive €1.3 million in the second quarter, nearly €6 million better than in the second quarter of 2023 and included a contribution of €6 million from our Spanish business. As a reminder, our country level results now include certain expenses that in the past were classified as undistributed B2B expenses, so the comparisons versus prior year periods are hard if we were to adjust Spain’s adjusted EBITDA on the prior year period, for example, to reflect the same allocation of expenses, adjusted EBITDA on the current quarter would have grown 34% instead of the 5% reflected in earnings deck. Separately and for a second consecutive quarter, Mexico contributed to this improvement with a positive adjusted EBITDA on the quarter versus the negative €2 million in the prior year period. Undistributed B2B expenses, meanwhile, decreased by €3 million, primarily due to the allocation of certain expenses to country level results, looking now at our PNL on Page 11, the nearly €6 million improvement in adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter was primarily driven by the €15.3 million increase in net gaming revenue, partially offset by a higher level of marketing and investment than would have otherwise been the case leading up to and around the Eurocup and Copa America tournaments, which took place in the back half of June and front half of July. Turning now to Page 12, the increase in net gaming revenue is being driven by both an increase in active customers from Spain and Mexico, together with a higher spend per active FTDs, meanwhile, increased by 5% in the quarter, driven by our acquisition efforts around the Eurocup and Copa America, but perhaps more importantly, we had a 16% increase in active customers in the quarter, primarily due to improved retention of existing customers. This improvement reflects not only the improved quality of our customer acquisitions, but also the significant efforts from our CRM team, which is delivering day-after-day for our customers and for the company. Turning to the Spanish operating and financial metrics, net gaming revenue in the second quarter increased 24% versus the prior year, driven by a significant 27% increase in the number of active customers to 52,000. On a sequential basis, net gaming revenue decreased slightly displaced despite a 3% increase in active customers due to the favorable results for customers in Spanish football and tennis, which while increasing engagement from our customers, especially here in Spain, otherwise negatively impacted our sports betting margin. That said, we would like to congratulate Carlos Alcaraz for his wins at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, our partners Real Madrid, for the win of the Champions League, and of course, the Spanish men’s football team for their win in the Eurocup, though, a win in extended time would have been a better outcome for Codere Online. In Mexico, net gaming revenue was €28 million in the second quarter, an increase of 57% year-on-year, and 6% sequentially. With this impressive growth – growth Mexico has already exceeded the €100 million mark in LTM net gaming revenue double that of 2022 in just a year and a half. The strong performance was driven by a 26% increase in the number of active customers and a 25% higher spend per active customer. Turning to the balance sheet on Page 15, as of June 30, we had €41 million of total cash in the balance sheet, of which approximately €35 million was available, €2 million more than where we ended the first quarter. I believe this was the first quarter since listing the business where we have increased cash from one quarter to the next, notwithstanding that we had a few million in extended accounts payable at quarter’s end. In terms of networking capital position, we ended the quarter with negative €19 million, or around 9% of LTM net gaming revenue, which, while lower than in the past, reflects a new normal level of working capital for our business, given increasingly restricted trade terms from suppliers. Looking at our cash flow on Page 16, in the first half, we have utilized €1.5 million of available cash, including a €0.2 million negative impact from FX on ending cash balances. Turning to our 2024 outlook on Page 18, and once again, given the strong performance we have seen in the first half of the year, we are increasing the lower end of our net gaming revenue outlook by €10 million, and the upper end by €5 million, that is from a range of €195 million to €210 million, to a new outlook of €205 million to €215 million at the mid this would imply a 22% growth in net gaming revenue versus 2023. In terms of adjusted EBITDA, and with the benefit of a busier than usual summer sports calendar now behind us, we are establishing a range of between €2.5 million and €7.5 million for the year, which reflects both our positive outlook for the back half of the year, but also leaves us with some wiggle room to continue investing where and when we see opportunities to do so in furtherance of creating meaningful value for shareholders. That’s all from my end. I’ll now hand it back over to Aviv for closing remarks.