GVC punt pays off as healthy figures give divi 50% boost
Investors who took a punt on online gaming firm GVC were counting their winnings today after the owner of Sportingbet jacked up profit forecasts and its special dividend for shareholders.
The firm — which took out rival bwin.partygaming in a £1 billion takeover last year — has been back in the takeover spotlight again after early talks with newly merged Ladbrokes Coral ended without agreement.
Today GVC, whose other brands include Foxy Bingo and PartyPoker, said profits for the full year would be at the upper end of expectations — around €205.5 million (£163.9 million) — as recent strong trading continued into December.
That gave GVC the confidence to raise its planned special dividend by 49% to 14.9c a share and the shares rose 25p to 640p a share, or 4%. GVC is up nearly 40% so far this year.
Ladbrokes Coral approached GVC over a potential reverse takeover with GVC’s highly rated chief executive Kenneth Alexander — who said he expects GVC to “achieve further significant progress” next year — pencilled in to run the enlarged group.
But GVC was understood to be less keen about a tie-up as a government review of betting terminals is hanging over the potential profits from Ladbrokes Coral’s betting shops.
