Gaming Realms has stressed belief that 2019 full-year revenue will be modestly ahead of board expectation, as CEO Patrick Southon announces a decision to step-down from the board with immediate effect.
Announced as the developer and licencor of mobile focused, real money games publishes a trading update, Gaming Realms also comments that positive momentum generated has continued into the start of 2020.
Following the announcement of Southon’s decision, Michael Buckley, non-executive chairman, will become executive chairman until a replacement is found, with Mark Segal, who has served as CFO for six years, to play a supporting role.
“During my six years as CEO, the main focus of the company was on B2C real money gaming,” Southon commented. “However, with the last of those assets disposed of in July 2019, and the company now stable and successfully implementing its new B2B focused game development and licensing strategy, I feel now is the right time for me to pursue a new challenge.
“It has been an honour to work alongside everyone at Gaming Realms and I wish them and the company every success in the future.”
Buoyed by an encouraging performance that has been primarily driven by Gaming Realms’s content licensing business, the firm has inked eight new agreements during 2019 as it “continued to go from strength to strength”.
Due to this revenue performance and the continuing control of costs, the company anticipates reporting a FY19 adjusted EBITDA loss of approximately £0.5m.
The firm has also lauded a number of agreements entered this year alongside the likes of LeoVegas and Buzz Bingo, as well as praising the launch of Slingo Centurion in partnership with Inspired Entertainment.
Buckley explained: “Patrick has made a valuable contribution to the company over the last six years as CEO, most recently helping to successfully evolve the company’s resources and strategy to better suit the changed regulatory landscape we operate within. On behalf of the board, I wish him every success in the future.
“FY19 was a transformational year for Gaming Realms, and I am delighted with our overall performance. We are now a simplified business with a clear and attainable strategy underpinned by a skilled and talented management team.
“The combination of our strong games portfolio, our existing distribution agreements with global partners, and our strong pipeline of new partnerships, means we are cautiously optimistic about the significant opportunities ahead of us as we focus on the growth of the company.”
