Stars Group hails rewards program as key financials rise

The Stars Group has cited the success of its new Stars Rewards initiative as one of the main reasons behind year-on-year growth across key financials in the third quarter.

Revenue in three months to September 30 amounted to $329.4m (€283.4m), up 21.7% on the $270.6m posted in the corresponding period last year.

Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also climbed 26.5% year-on-year to $155.8m.

Elsewhere, net cash inflows from operating activities increased by 67.1% from $86.7m to $144.9m, while adjusted cash flow from operations also hiked 67.1% from $85m to $141m.

Net earnings rocketed by 505.9% year-on-year to $75.9m, while adjusted net earnings also increased 40.7% to $119.6m.

Diluted earnings per common share in Q3 stood at $0.037, up by 516.7% on last year, while adjusted net earnings per common share increased 38.1% year-on-year to $0.58.

As a result, for the year-to-date through to the end of September, revenue came in at $952.1m, which is 12.7% ahead of the same point last year.

Adjusted EBITDA was also up 20.4% year-on-year to $453.3m, with net cash inflows from operating activities up 83.9% to $370.8m and adjusted cash flow from operations increasing by 41.4% to $393.2m.

Net earnings for the first nine months of 2017 increased by 134.3% to $212.1m, with adjusted net earnings also up 33.6% to $347m.

In addition, diluted earnings per common share in the nine-month period were $1.05, compared to $0.47 last year, while adjusted net earnings per common share also improved to $1.71.

Rafi Ashkenazi, chief executive of The Stars Group, said: “Our operations and management continued to perform in the third quarter, delivering strong year-over-year growth bolstered by the launch of Stars Rewards

“Not only did we see improvement in our poker business, but our casino continues to grow with a significant active player base and our online sportsbook continues to see meaningful growth in turnover.

“To build upon these achievements, we plan to focus on reinvesting in our core products and increasing our investment in marketing for the remainder of 2017 and into 2018 while continuing to explore further growth opportunities.”

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