Amaya Gaming, the parent company of PokerStars, reported record 2016 revenues of .2 billion for 2016, up 8 percent from the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA grew 14 percent to 4 million while adjusted net earnings grew 26 percent to 6 million.
“2016 was a record year of revenues for Amaya,” said Rafi Ashkenazi, Amaya’s chief executive officer. “Our proactive changes to the poker ecosystem and customer acquisition initiatives continue to reverse certain negative trends, and we are starting to see organic growth in that business. Our casino offering exceeded expectations as we introduced limited marketing campaigns and focused on our cross-sell efforts, and we continued to build and develop our sportsbook.”
Ashkenazi noted highlights including the launch of online poker operations in Portugal and the Czech Republic (PokerStars was first in both markets), the creation of 10 million “winning moments” for customers, the leveraging of Amaya’s poker player base to drive growth in its new online casino and sports book offerings with minimal outside marketing and a restructuring of debt that will save the company roughly $50 million in annual interest expense.
For the 2016 fourth quarter, Amaya posted total revenues of $310 million, up 6 percent year-over-year and up 10 percent on a constant currency basis. Adjusted EBITDA grew 18 percent to $148 million while adjusted net earnings checked in at $107 million, a 30 percent jump.
“We’ve been encouraged by the fact that we’re generating revenue from new poker users who are also playing casino and sports book,” Ashkenazi said on a call with investors.
“The strong performance of our business has helped us to reduce our currency risk, lower our interest expense, and accelerate the payment of the remaining amounts owed on our deferred payment obligation, all of which will allow us to continue pursuing our four strategic priorities. We expect to continue our 2016 momentum and execute on our strategy in 2017.”
