Playtech PLC

Good morning, everyone. Thank you all for attending today. It's good to see a lot of familiar faces here. So on to slide two. I'll begin with the highlights before handing over to Chris, who will take you through the financials and the outlook. I'll then update you on our progress against our strategic priorities. Turning now to slide three. I'm pleased to report a strong performance in the first half, with adjusted EBITDA of 92 million euros, consistent with the upgraded expectations communicated in last month's trading statement. The overall performance reflects the revised terms of Caliente Interactive Agreement. We saw solid underlying growth within the B2B business. At the same time, we continue to make excellent strategic progress in core markets, in particular the Americas, where we have laid the foundations for significant growth in the US and Brazil. The disposal of Snytech, which completed in April, has bolstered our balance sheet, giving us the flexibility around capital allocation. Given the solid start to H2, we are on track to deliver fully-adjusted EBITDA for 2025 ahead of expectations. As we transition back to our roots as a pure play B2B business, the board remains confident in our ability to execute our strategy over the medium term. I will now hand over to Chris, who will take you through the financial performance and outlook.

Thanks, Mark. And on to slide five, please. Before we look at the numbers, I think it's important to note the two major events that took place in the first half of this year, which are, of course, the completion of the sale of Snytech, as well as the revised terms of our agreements with Caliente Interactive taking effect. These big changes have fundamentally reshaped Playtech, and we are pleased that the financial performance of the group, which includes the impact of these changes, has come in ahead of expectations. Now looking at the numbers, group revenue for the first half came in at 387 million euros down 10% year on year due to the impact from the revised agreement with Caliente Interactive. As a quick reminder, under the revised agreement which came into effect on the 31st of March, the additional service fee will no longer be collected, reducing revenue while direct costs are also slightly reduced. As previously communicated, our share of income from associate as a 30.8% direct equity holder is now included within group adjusted EBITDA. We've put a slide in the appendix that walks through the comparison and changes at revenue and EBITDA level so you can see the effect of the new Caliente Interactive Agreement has had in the period and how underlying group earnings have grown. Excluding the Caliente Interactive impact, group revenue was flat year-on-year in the first half. This performance also absorbed several headwinds we saw in the first half of the year, such as the Brazil regulatory transition issues, the implementation of VAT in Colombia, and the exit of a major operator from Asian markets. Adjusted EBITDA in the first half came in at 91.6 million euros ahead of consensus expectations prior to our August trading update. On an underlying basis, adjusted EBITDA grew 5% year-on-year in the first half, reflecting the strength of our core operations. We have maintained a strong balance sheet, ending the period in a net cash position due to the net proceeds from the Snytex sale. Finally, our free cash flow generation in the first half was impacted by the timing of dividend payments from Caliente Interactive totaling 20 million US dollars which were received post-period end. Turning to slide six. Looking at the B2B division in more detail, H1 revenues declined 9% to 348 million euros. On an underlying basis, revenues grew by 3%. Also on an underlying basis, Latin America saw revenue growth of 5% as the tailwind from Brazil's inclusion within regulated markets in our reporting was partially offset by the previously flagged headwinds in Brazil and Colombia. The U.S. and Canada region continues to see very strong momentum with revenues increasing 64%. Looking at Europe excluding the U.K., revenues grew 4% driven by Poland and Spain. In the U.K., revenues declined 3% due to the continued impact of an operator insourcing their self-service betting terminals. Elsewhere, in unregulated markets, revenues declined reflecting the reclassification of Brazil as a regulated market. From a cost perspective, and you can see more details with a breakdown in the appendix, continued investment into strategic areas such as live in Brazil and the U.S., was largely offset by tight cost control, which resulted in B2B costs increasing by only 2%. Now on to slide 7, where I will talk you through the performance of our B2C division. B2C revenue declined 17% year-on-year to €41 million in the first half, while adjusted EBITDA loss narrowed from €4.3 to €1.5 million. Happy bet! saw a 19% decrease in revenue driven by the closure of the Austrian business and the ongoing winding down of the German operations. Adjusted EBITDA losses narrowed significantly to 2.3 million for the same reasons. As announced in May, we have initiated the disposal process with another German operator, which includes the transfer of Happy Bet's German franchise partners and associated hardware subject to negotiations. This marks a key step in our exit from the non-core happy debt business. Elsewhere, our SunBingo and other B2C operations were impacted by enhanced regulatory requirements in the UK, which contributed to a 17% decline in revenue and a reduction in adjusted EBITDA. Turning now to slide eight, where we look at our net debt bridge from the end of 2024 to the end of June 2025. Following the disposal of Snytec and the payment of the special dividend, we received just over 300 million euros in net proceeds. As a result, we ended up with a net cash position of 77 million euros as at the end of June. It's worth flagging that this net cash position is elevated as there are outstanding liabilities from the Snytec disposal totaling just over 90 million euros. These liabilities, which are not due until 2026 and 2027, include a portion of management bonuses related to the deal, taxes on the Snitex sale, and dividends to holders of unvested LTIPs. Adjusting for these on a pro forma basis, we would have had a slight net deposition of 15 million euros at the end of the period. Turning to our borrowing facilities, In Q2, we successfully repaid the remaining €150 million outstanding under a €350 million March 2026 bond using a portion of the SNITECH proceeds. This leaves us with a single €300 million bond, which matures in June 2028, alongside our recently secured €225 million revolving credit facility, which replaced our previous facility and currently remains fully undrawn. On to slide 9, Taitac continues to maintain a strong balance sheet, which provides us with the flexibility to allocate capital in a disciplined and strategic manner. Our approach is focused on driving long-term growth while delivering value to shareholders. We are actively deploying capital to high growth areas such as the US, Brazil, and La Cucina, where we see strong momentum and scalable opportunities. In addition, we're investing in both new and existing structured agreements that support our expansion into regulated markets and reinforce our B2B leadership. Our M&A strategy remains disciplined. We are open to accretive acquisitions that align with our strategic priorities and regulatory trends with a clear focus on enhancing Playtech's position as a pure play B2B technology provider. At the same time, we continue to evaluate mechanisms for returning capital to shareholder, including dividends and buybacks, ensuring that any action taken is both sustainable and value accretive. This balanced approach allows us to invest in growth, maintain financial resilience, and deliver returns, all while remaining agile in a dynamic market environment. Turning to slide 10. As you recall, at our 2024 full year results, we introduced a new medium term adjusted EBITDA target of 250 to 300 million euros. We have a starting point of approximately 150 euros in adjusted EBITDA for 2024 when you adjust for the revised Caliente Interactive Agreement. I'm now walking you through the key levers we're deploying to reach this target. First, our U.S. business is in growth phase and as a result has annual losses of approximately 15 million euros. This is primarily due to the significant investment being made within the live segment as we have three studios now operational in the U.S. with small but rapidly growing revenue. Given the structural growth drivers and demand from operators, we see a clear path to profitability over the coming years. Strong operating leverage on the revenue growth translate into narrowing EBITDA losses and then ultimately positive EBITDA. Secondly, we have identified underperforming businesses within the Playtech group that contributed more than 20 million euros in annual EBITDA losses. Of that, a significant amount relates to HappyBet, which we've discussed, where there's a process underway to wind down that business. The remaining underperforming businesses will be addressed in the coming periods with actions already being taken. Next, as more we'll talk about in more detail, we are well positioned in markets such as Brazil and Mexico, partnering with the biggest and most ambitious brands, which should drive further earnings growth over the medium term. Finally, we continue to identify inefficiencies across our processes and footprint while taking steps to eliminate duplication. This will ensure our B2B business operates with the right cost base and that our resources are focused on the growth areas that we've just discussed. And finally, moving to slide 11 and our outlook. We've seen a solid start to H2 with performance tracking in line with normal seasonality. We plan to continue to increase investment in the second half, particularly in the US and Brazil, where we see strong and sustained demand for our products. Despite the increased investment, we're on track to deliver full-year 2025 adjusted EBITDA ahead of expectations, reflecting the strength of our core business. For guidance, we now expect full-year 2025 capbacks, which includes capitalized development, to be between 80 to 90 million euros, which is a reduction from our previous guidance of 90 to 100 million euros, which is due to lower capitalization rates and a disciplined approach to capital spending. We maintain our effective tax rate guidance of between 25 to 28%. Our financial performance and good strategic progress in the first half of the year keeps us firmly on track to meet our medium term adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow targets of 250 to 300 million and 70 to 100 million euros respectively. With clear strategic priorities, strong execution, and a strong balance sheet, the board remains very confident in Playtech's prospects for the remainder of 2025 and beyond. I'll now hand back to Mark to take you through our strategic priorities.

Thanks, Chris. Onto slide 13. I'll begin by highlighting two landmark milestones completed in H1 that fundamentally reshaped Playtech into a highly focused B2B business. Let's start with Snytech, a transformational deal and a clear example of our commitment to deliver shareholder value. We acquired Snytech in 2018 for 846 million euros at an attractive EV EBITDA multiple of 6.1 times. Alongside the Snytec team, we successfully transformed this business from a predominantly retail operator into a higher-margin, less capital-intensive, technology-driven omnichannel leader. In September last year, we announced the sale of Snytec to Flutter Entertainment for €2.3 billion, representing a premium EV EBITDA multiple of nine times. This transaction, completed in April 2025, delivering a cash return of more than three times our initial investment, with 1.8 billion euros distributed to our shareholders through a special dividend paid in June. On to Caliente Interactive, our most successful structured agreement to date. After a challenging period, we restored our strong and collaborative relationship with Caliente Interactive by signing a revised strategic agreement in September 2024, which completed at the end of March this year. This agreement represents a good outcome for both parties and lays the foundations for the next phase of growth for our partnership. Under the new structure, Playtech now owns a 30.8% equity stake in Caliente Interactive, a newly formed U.S. incorporated holding company for Caliente's online business. And importantly, this partnership is already delivering cash returns. Caliente Interactive declared and paid its first dividends to Playtech in early H2. On to slide 14. where I will outline Playtech's investment case. There are two elements that are important to understand when looking at the company and its prospects following the Snytex sale. Firstly, operationally and commercially, we are a high-growth B2B business providing technology to the majority of the leading brands in the industry. We provide these brands with our market-leading innovative content across a range of verticals, including the rapidly growing live casino segment, where we are gaining market share in key markets. One of our greatest strengths is our presence in some of the fastest-growing regulated markets in the world, including the U.S., Brazil, and Mexico. and we offer a range of innovative business models to ensure we are able to extract the appropriate level of value for the software and services that we provide. Taken together, we have an attractive set of levers that will see us deliver on our ambitious medium-term adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow targets set six months ago. Secondly, we have a collection of highly valuable assets on our balance sheet with a total book value of over 1 billion euros. And of course, book value is generally regarded by the market to be a conservative estimate of realizable value. Nevertheless, in the interest of prudence, we will use this measure. The largest asset by far is our 30.8% equity stake in Caliente Interactive, which has a book value of 726 million euros. Our other assets are at an earlier stage in their development, yet they have the potential to grow strongly and ultimately generate significant value for Playtech shareholders. In the U.S., our low single-digit equity stake in Hard Rock Digital gives us strategic exposure to a rapidly growing business with a market leadership position in Florida's online sports betting market. In Brazil, we also hold a nominal cost option on 40% of the equity in GaleraBet, which was amongst the first batch of operators to be granted a license in the newly regulated Brazilian market. I'm really excited about this business, and you'll hear me explain why in a few slides. In Colombia, we hold a nominal cost option on 50% equity in a leading online gaming operator, Wplay, representing a strategically valuable asset. Next, we have a valuable 49% equity stake in L-Sports, the real-time sports betting data provider covering over 100 sports with some of the lowest latency rates in the market, and the business is growing rapidly. Finally, we have equity stakes in various other assets, such as AlgoSports, whose profits have continued to grow, as well as assets such as Nostal and the Sporting News. And underpinning our investment case is our commitment to deliver shareholder value, including through shareholder distributions. So in summary, Playtech offers access to a high-growth B2B business, complemented by highly valuable assets, and a strong commitment to delivering shareholder value. On to slide 15. Here, I'll briefly outline the strategic priorities that will drive our progress towards achieving our medium-term adjusted EBITDA target of 250 to 300 million. Firstly, we will continue to prioritize regulated and regulating markets, with a clear emphasis on those offering the greatest long-term growth potential. Markets such as the US and Brazil are currently in the investment phase, but we are confident they will deliver substantial returns over time. Others, like Mexico, are already highly cash generative and provide a strong foundation for scalable growth. Secondly, we will concentrate our product investments in areas with the highest potential for profitability and return on capital. Playtech is renowned for the breadth of its product offering, but there are certain verticals that provide the greatest opportunity. We believe that live and casino present the greatest opportunity for growth, supported by our market-leading PAM Plus platform and our value-accretive services business. Thirdly, our transition into a highly focused B2B technology company is a natural moment to review our operational efficiency and agility, as Chris touched on. This means addressing underperforming businesses, streamlining operations, eliminating duplication, and building a leaner, more responsive organization that can adapt quickly to changing market dynamics and customer needs. By executing on those core priorities, we will optimize resource allocation, reduce structural complexity, and improve cash generation, positioning Playtech for sustained long-term success. On to slide 16. Let's now turn to one of the most exciting, strategically important growth drivers in our B2B business, our successful partnership with Caliente Interactive. The overall Mexican online market is set to grow 21% in 2025. But despite its scale, we think there is capacity for further growth in the years ahead. According to industry analysts, GGR per adult in Mexico averages $35. This compares to $65 in the Philippines, a market with similar demographics and digital infrastructure, but a much lower GDP per capita, suggesting a significant opportunity for further growth in Mexico. As many of you know, Caliente Interactive has long been the undisputed market leader in Mexico's online sector. Over the years, its technology platform has been finely tuned to reflect the unique preferences and behaviors of local consumers, giving it a distinct competitive advantage. At the same time, Caliente's scale enables it to invest aggressively in marketing, reinforcing its leadership position. This sustained investment has created a brand that is unrivaled in Mexico. For example, Caliente sponsors 13 out of 18 teams in the Liga MX, the country's top football league. With Mexico set to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Caliente's dominance is expected to reach new heights as the tournament will significantly amplify its visibility and further solidify its brand leadership. Beyond Mexico, Caliente's ambitions extend to other markets. Later this year, the company plans to enter Peru's newly regulated market, marking the first step in a broader expansion strategy across Latin America. At the same time, Caliente is actively exploring other markets across the region, carefully evaluating the most exciting opportunities for future expansion. Moving to slide 17. where I'll provide an update on the current and future growth drivers of our U.S. business. After signing partnerships with all of the major operators throughout 2024, we have seen very strong momentum in the first half of this year, with revenue growth surpassing 100%. A key factor behind this growth has been our ability to expand wallet share amongst Tier 1 operators. Our live casino business made material progress following a successful launch with DraftKings across the three largest iGaming states. By the end of June, we were operating more than 50 active live tables in our US studios, and we continue to invest in additional capacity to meet the strong and growing demand of our products. Our expansion with existing operators into new states creates a further avenue for growth. In June, we announced our entry into West Virginia, our fourth iGaming state, where we launched with major operators, including DraftKings, Rath Street, and BetMGM. We also expanded our relationship with Delaware North, launching online sports in Arkansas and multiple products in West Virginia. Through our equity stake in Hard Rock Digital, we benefit from their unique leadership position in online sports betting in Florida. The cash generated from Florida supports hard rock digital expansion into other states across the U.S. and other international markets where we are also positioned to capture value from their growth. Margin accretive platform deals are especially attractive given the value that accrues to Playtech when operators use both our PAM Plus platform and content. We now have three U.S. operators utilizing our platform with revenue from this subset growing significantly and we expect this to be an increasing contributor to our U.S. growth. Finally, we continue to prioritize the development of innovative content tailored to the U.S. audience as we look to increase wallet share amongst operators In H1, we released 20 new games, including branded titles such as Robocop Collectem and Deadliest Catch. Our content strategy is delivering results. Multiple Playtech titles consistently rank amongst the top 25 games in industry reports, underscoring our ability to compete with established suppliers and reinforcing the strength of our content portfolio. As we deepen our U.S. presence, our focus remains clear. Innovation, operational excellence, and supporting our partners to capture long-term growth opportunities. Moving to slide 18. Let's turn to Brazil. One of the most exciting and fastest-growing markets in the world. The official launch of Brazil's regulated online gambling market in January marked a historic milestone for the industry and a major opportunity for long-term growth. Industry analysts project the market to grow at 15% annually, reaching GGR of $17 billion by 2030. That said, as with any major regulatory shift, there have been some well-publicized bumps in the road to begin with. Brazil introduced some of the strictest onboarding requirements globally, leading to unusually high KYC rejection rates, and as a result, lower than expected volumes across the industry in the first half of the year. Given our strong partnerships with leading Brazilian operators, this has had an impact on us as a B2B supplier. But let me be clear. We see this as a temporary headwind. Our conviction in Brazil's future is reflected in our decision to invest further in the country. We are building a state-of-the-art live casino studio in Sao Paulo on track for completion by the end of 2025. This will allow us to deliver localized premium content with native-speaking live dealers creating an authentic experience for Brazilian players. To support this, we are scaling our local presence. Our team in Brazil is expected to grow to over 100 people this year, and we are continuing to invest in talent and infrastructure to capture this opportunity. We have signed partnerships with some of the country's leading operators, strengthened our position through our structured agreement with GaleraBet, And we are in the final stages of securing an agreement with a major player, which has the potential to be one of the largest operators in the Brazilian market. Let's now turn to slide 19, where I'd like to cover our progress in live casino. Throughout the first half of 2025, we saw strong and sustained demand for live, with revenues up 9% year-on-year. A standout region was the United States, where we delivered over 300% revenue growth following a series of successful launches with DraftKings across the three largest iGaming states. Across our 15 studios, we now have over 470 tables, an increase of 5% versus the end of 2024. In response to strong demand, we are investing in further capacity expansion across all of our U.S. studios to capture the growing opportunity we see. We are also expanding across Latin America. Live Casino is proving to be highly popular in Brazil. While our new Sao Paulo studio is under construction, we are expanding our Peru facility to meet the surge in demand and reinforce our leadership in the region. On the product side, we are building on the success of our landmark partnership with MGM Resource International. Earlier this year, we launched a dedicated studio on the MGM Grand Casino floor, bringing the energy of Las Vegas directly to online players in regulated markets outside the U.S. Along with the game show Family Feud, the studio also broadcasts a variety of interactive table games, all hosted in a fully transparent glass studio on the MGM Grand Casino floor, visible to the public 24-7. We also introduced Vision Blackjack, a game that replicates the look and feel of a live table while operating entirely on RNG technology. Unlike traditional live dealer games, it eliminates the need for human dealers and video streaming, enabling faster gameplay, lower operating costs, and highly scalable deployments. Live Casino continues to be a high-growth, high-margin vertical for Playtech. With strong performance in the U.S., expansion across Latin America and Europe, and continued product innovation, we are well positioned to capture the next phase of growth in this space. On to slide 20, where I want to highlight the growing importance of our services business, which is set to remain a key contributor to B2B revenue growth. Through partnering with over 200 licenses globally, Playtech has amassed significant knowledge on the gambling industry, including customer acquisition and retention, risk management, and operational know-how. In addition, Playtech can optimize its products to maximize their value for operators. Our services have been hugely valuable to partners, particularly those with strategic agreements in place. This is a key competitive advantage and an important contributor to their success. To meet strong demand, we are now rolling out our services offering to a broader set of operators, enabling a greater proportion of our licenses to benefit from optimization of Latex products and our marketing and operational expertise. Given our revenue share model with operators, this should act as a tailwind to revenue growth, providing a win-win model for both Playtech and its licenses. Finally, slide 21, where I summarize Playtech's investment case. Playtech has clear levers for medium-term growth. In terms of geographies, we see the greatest opportunity in the Americas, most notably the US, Brazil, and Mexico. From a product perspective, we expect Life Casino to be an increasingly important contributor. Given the significant investment across these areas and our ongoing work on operational efficiency and addressing underperforming businesses, the foundations are in place to achieve our medium-term adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow targets. We own highly valuable assets, such as our stakes in Caliente Interactive and Hard Rock Digital. Both of them, along with our other assets, occupy strong positions in their local markets, and we see significant potential for them to continue increasing in value. Our strong balance sheet provides the flexibility to pursue both organic and inorganic growth opportunities, while also supporting future shareholders' returns. We are confident in continuing to deliver shareholder value over the medium term, and I'm really excited about what is in store as we embark on the next chapter at Playtech. Thank you all for listening. Chris and I will now be very happy to take any questions you may have. And a quick reflection on DH, right? So I just turned the glasses. I just turned 52 weeks ago. big milestone for me. And I just celebrated my 20th anniversary with Playtech. So you should all go easy on me.