PointsBet appoints new group chief financial officer
Lui, PointsBet’s current chief financial officer (Australia) and head of group finance, will assume the role following Mellor’s departure on 29 February 2024. Mellor will remain in place until the group’s half-year results are published. Until his departure, he will also continue to work towards the final completion of the $225.0m (£178.4m/€208.1m) sale of PointsBet’s US business to Fanatics Betting and Gaming (FBG).
Lui has been with PointsBet for more than six years in financial controller and treasury roles. He is a chartered accountant with more than 17 years’ experience in senior banking and finance roles in London and Melbourne. He previously worked with Ernst & Young and ANZ prior to joining PointsBet in November 2017.
PointsBet chairman Brett Paton paid tribute to Mellor’s contribution towards the group’s transformation. This has seen the company go from a small-cap start-up to a global business over the last five years.
Paton said: “Andrew has made a transformational contribution to Pointsbet over his tenure. He has built a world class finance function that has grown from a small number of employees based in Australia to a high performing team operating across multiple regions. He has been an integral part of the global executive leadership team, driving our strong growth and expansion into new regions, while ensuring we had the right capital structure to execute the global strategy.”
Group CPO role now defunct following US withdrawal
PointsBet has also announced the cessation of the group chief people officer role and departure of incumbent Melissa Fitzpatrick. The position is deemed surplus to requirements as a result of the sale of the US business. These duties will now be incorporated into the PointsBet Australian and Canadian Human Resource functions.
Chief executive Sam Swanell said: “Mel has played a valuable role at the group level managing our people functions across six countries, with a focus on ensuring consistent best practice. Her experience and expertise came to the fore particularly during the challenges of Covid, with driving forward our global sustainability and diversity initiatives, with leadership training programs and with Remuneration Committee processes.”
FBG in June agreed to acquire the US operations of PointsBet in a deal valued at $225.0m. Since then, Fanatics has slowly started to take over PointsBet’s operations in states across the US.
PointsBet: We’ll break even in FY25
At the group’s recent AGM, Swanell outlined a focus on technology to deliver growth in Australia and Canada following the group’s departure from the US. Swanell told investors that PointsBet remains on course to break even this year and deliver growth in FY25. Revenue from continuing operations in Australia and Canada have grown from $26m in FY19 to an anticipated $230m-$250m in FY24.
Central to its performance, Swanell said, will be the proprietary technology powering its own platforms as well as Fanatics. In total, PointsBet’s platform handled more than $7bn in wagers during the most recent financial year.
PointsBet also retains the rights to use and further develop the Banach “Oddsfactory” technology assets. This drives in-play, parlay products and cash-out features in Australia, Canada and the US.
“The strength of our technology has also been validated through our sale of the platform to Fanatics,” Swanell said. “While we have provided Fanatics with a perpetual licence to our technology platform, importantly we retain ownership of this technology. That means we can develop and exploit it in a manner that creates the most value for PointsBet shareholders.”
In its full-year results ended 30 June 2023, ASX-listed PointsBet generated net revenue of AU$383.1m ($248.1m/€227.4m/£195.3m). This was up 7.6% year-on-year. Revenue from continuing operations – removing the US business – was up from AU$195.4m to AU$210.3m. PointsBet reported a negative EBITDA of AU$230.6m for 2023, with AU$49.0m of that coming from its continuing operations.