Playtika Halts Strategic Review, Initiates Dividend

Shares of mobile games developer Playtika (NASDAQ: PLTK) slid Monday after the fellowship reported fourth-quarter earnings per part (EPS) that missed Wall Street estimates, and as the unfluctuating said it’s halting a strategical review.

In the net troika months of 2023, Playtika earned 10 cents per share on revenue of $637.9 million. Analysts expected earnings of 17 cents per percentage on sales of $628.98 million. Nearly II years to the daylight after the company announced a strategical review, which could make included a sale, Playtika paused that effort, citing “ongoing precariousness inward Yisrael and Ukraine.”

Playtika is based inwards Israel and has operations inwards Ukraine. Playtika was i of the first of all to offer free-to-play social games on societal networks and roving devices, and has over 35 1000000 monthly users. Its well-known games include Bingo Blitz, Caesars Slots, Slotomania, and World Series of Poker (WSOP) Social.

With the strategical reexamine on hold, the peregrine games creator is taking a different approach, telling investors it testament act on mergers and acquisitions of its own.

Playtika Capital Deployment Plans

Playtika concluded 2023 with $1.02 billion inwards cash and hard currency equivalents compared to a electric current securities industry capitalization of $2.52 billion, indicating the buy in may live undervalued followers a 28% correct o'er the past times year. The company’s release hard cash flowing jumped to $436.4 zillion from $383.7 billion in 2022, paving the path for opportunistic mergers and acquisitions and shareholder rewards.

In the past times year, we’ve honed our sharpen on efficiency and flowing our operations, adapting to evolving manufacture dynamics in wandering gaming,” said CEO Henry Martyn Robert Antokol inward a statement. “Now, with a unanimous foundation, 2024 marks our dislodge towards reinvestment — pursuing M&A opportunities with a strategic purport of working capital deployment.”

Playtika said it will commence a quarterly dividend of 10 cents a share on Apr 5 to shareholders of record book as of the closely of business sector on Mar 22. The unfaltering added it could deal a portion repurchase computer programme inwards the future. Based on the cost of the gunstock at this writing, dividend yield would live 2.74%.

President and COO Craig Abrahams added the fellowship testament expend $600 million to $1.2 one million million on mergers and acquisitions over the next threesome years.

Playtika’s 2024 Outlook

The gaming company’s tepid 2024 guidance may feature also been a contributing factor in inwards the gunstock sliding on Monday. Playtika said it expects 2024 sales of $2.52 1000000000000 to $2.62 1000000000000 on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $730 gazillion to $770 million.

“Capital expenditures expected to be between $110 one thousand thousand to $115 million, which includes $17 1000000 inwards accrued great expenditures from Q4 FY2023 that testament be paid inward FY2024,” according to the firm.

In the quaternary quarter, mediocre day-by-day paying users roseate 2.3% on a quarter-over-quarter basis, but declined 2.2% yr o'er year.