Amaya beats revenue projections as CFO departs

Amaya has lauded the impact of its PokerStars “ecosystem overhaul”, with 2016 revenues expected to be at the high end of projections at between $1.153bn and $1.158bn.

The figures mark at least an $81m increase from 2015, with Amaya CEO Rafi Ashkenazi praising the firm’s recreational player focus and successful cross-selling into casino.

“We anticipate that 2016 will be a record year of revenues for Amaya,” said Ashkenazi.

“We also saw better than expected fourth quarter results from our casino offering, operational excellence program and a successful re-launch in Portugal, all while continuing to take an efficient and measured approach to marketing our product offerings.

“We built positive momentum in 2016 that accelerated throughout the year and which we believe was largely the result of the positive impact of our strategy to improve the poker ecosystem for recreational players and leverage our global competitive advantage in online poker to acquire new customers, cross-sell existing and new customers into our online casino and sportsbook offerings, and maximize the lifetime value of all of our customers.”

Adjusted EBITDA is also expected to be above projections at between $521m and $526m, compared to approximately $459m in 2015.

Ashkenazi added: “We expect to continue this momentum and execute on our strategy in 2017 despite anticipated further headwinds, including continued declines in the value of our customers’ local currencies against the US dollar, which has been significant over the past two years, and the previously announced potential cessation of our real-money online poker offering in Australia.

“We anticipate that certain operational initiatives, including the introduction of a new cross-vertical customer loyalty program, the potential expansion into new markets, our continued focus on achieving product parity in our online casino and sportsbook, and our operational excellence program, will help to both drive our business forward and mitigate these and future headwinds.”

The Toronto-listed firm also announced the departure of CFO Daniel Sebag who is retiring at the age of 50.

Sebag will depart later this year once his successor is identified and appointed, and will assist Amaya in ensuring an orderly transition of his duties.

He joined Amaya in 2007 as its first CFO and managed its finances and accounting as a start-up through its initial public offering and the $4.9bn Rational Group acquisition in August 2014.

“Danny has been a passionate and dedicated steward of Amaya’s growth into a global gaming leader and helping to position it for the future,” said Amaya chairman Dave Gadhia.

“On behalf of the company, I would like to thank him for his contributions over the years. We wish him all the best in his retirement.”

Sebag previously stepped down as an Amaya director back in September following accusations that he was involved in insider trading along with then-Amaya CEO David Baazov.