Interactive
US – SciPlay down seven per cent as stay at home lifts
By Phil - 12 August 2021
SciPlay’s second quarter revenue came in at $154m, down seven per cent from the prior year period, largely due to the easing of stay-at-home measures compared to the height of COVID prevention measures in the prior year.
Revenue grew 1.9 per cent sequentially driven by the continued performance of social casino and continued improvement in key monetisation metrics. Player conversion rate reached an all-time high of 8.5 per cent, validating the company’s continued payer focus and live-ops strategy to drive increased monetisation.
Average Monthly Revenue Per Paying User (AMRPPU) was $96.29, its second highest level ever trailing only the COVID impacted prior year period. Average Revenue Per Daily Active User (ARPDAU) reached an all-time high of $0.72, increasing 7.5 per cent from the prior year period. Mobile penetration increased 100 basis points from the prior year period to 88 per cent.
Josh Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of SciPlay, said: “Our teams continued the strong momentum from the first quarter delivering sequential growth on the top and bottom lines. The core social casino business continues to perform well as we hit another record quarter for Gold Fish and grew key payer metrics. We continue to evolve our business, rapidly expanding in the casual genre with Solitaire Pets Adventure and the acquisition of Koukoi Games. Koukoi will jumpstart our development of Project X with an experienced and proven team. SciPlay is extremely well situated to continue driving sustainable growth.”
Mike Cody, Chief Financial Officer of SciPlay, added: “This quarter saw another record for payer conversion at 8.5 per cent in addition to record ARPDAU of $0.72 while our other monetization metrics continue to perform above pre-COVID levels. Importantly, we were able to grow above market in social casino sequentially and deliver our second highest revenue quarter. We are excited to continue enhancing our social casino portfolio and expanding our casual pipeline.”
The company has formed a special committee of independent directors (the “Special Committee”) consisting of Mr. William Thompson, Mr. Gerald Cohen, and Mr. Michael Marchetti. The Board has granted the Special Committee independent authority to review and evaluate a previously announced proposal that the Board received on July 15, 2021 from Scientific Games Corporation (NASDAQ: SGMS) (“Scientific Games”), proposing that Scientific Games acquire the remaining 19% equity interest in SciPlay that Scientific Games does not currently own in an all-stock transaction (the “Proposed Transaction”). In the Proposed Transaction, SciPlay shareholders, other than Scientific Games and its subsidiaries, would receive 0.250 shares of Scientific Games common stock for each share of SciPlay Class A common stock they own, which would imply a premium of 11 per cent based on the Scientific Games and SciPlay respective stock prices as of the close of business on July 14, 2021, the last trading day prior to Scientific Games’ proposal.
The Special Committee has retained Lazard as its financial advisor and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP as its legal counsel in connection with its review and evaluation of the Proposed Transaction.
The Company cautions its shareholders and others considering trading in its securities that neither the Board nor the Special Committee has made any decision with respect to the Company’s response to the Proposed Transaction. There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made, that any definitive agreement will be executed relating to the Proposed Transaction or that this or any other transaction will be approved or consummated. The Company does not undertake any obligation to provide any updates with respect to this or any other transaction, except as required under applicable law.
