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Evolution Gaming – INTERIM REPORT FOR JANUARY-MARCH 2020

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Evolution Gaming - INTERIM REPORT FOR JANUARY-MARCH 2020
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Evolution released  its Interim Report for January-March 2020.

First quarter of 2020 (Q1 2019)

  • Operating revenues increased by 45% to EUR 115.1 million (79.3)
  • EBITDA increased by 79% to EUR 64.1 million (35.9), corresponding to a margin of 55.7% (45.3)
  • Profit for the period amounted to EUR 54.2 million (28.6)
  • Earnings per share before dilution amounted to EUR 0.30 (0.16)

Events during the first quarter of 2020

  • Continued high demand generates a positive effect on margin development.
  • Adaptation of operations as a result of covid-19 to ensure the operation and safety of employees.
  • Repurchase of 338,000 shares in order to improve the capital structure by reducing the capital, and thereby creating added shareholder value.

Summary of the first quarter 2020

Summary of Evolution Gaming's first quarter 2020

Comments from Group CEO Martin Carlesund:

“The spread of COVID-19 has put the world in an exceptional and challenging situation which has also meant operational trials for Evolution. So far, we have handled the situation in a good way, and financially, Evolution has started 2020 very strongly in terms of both growth and profitability.

Revenues for the first quarter amounted to EUR 115 million, an increase of 45 percent compared to the first quarter of 2019. EBITDA amounted to EUR 64 million with a margin of 55.7 percent. With a good financial start to the year, great confidence ahead of the upcoming product launches and a good momentum at the start of the second quarter, I am more certain of our objective for 2020 to improve the margin level compared to 2019. Together, all employees did a fantastic job during the first quarter. I am deeply grateful for the energy and determination with which we have taken up the challenge – we have step-by-step, methodically moved forward every day. Of course, this work continues as we work to stay ahead of the developing situation. Our main priorities in dealing with the COVID-19 situation are to minimize the risk of spreading the virus and to create a safe workplace for our employees as well as to maintain the operation for our operators. We continue to comply with all the requirements from the authorities in the countries we operate in, and in many cases we have taken more far-reaching initiatives. Thanks to the extensive measures that have been implemented in terms of social distancing, changed working processes and routines for our employees, our operations have been able to continue without any large negative effects. However, in several of our studios, we operate with fewer tables compared to normal, and our studios in Georgia and Spain have been temporarily closed during limited periods. During these periods, a large share of the traffic has been managed by the company’s other studios. To be a global company with sites across multiple territories has been an important factor during these times. With that said, our studios in Latvia and Malta are important hubs from which several of our most popular titles are broadcasted.

We have seen an increased and strong demand for our products all through the first quarter. During the end of the quarter the absence of sporting betting games likely also favoured growth in our products. This circumstance effects also the start of the second quarter and we now see many new players being introduced to the Live segment. All in all, this means that we have a very good start to the year so far, but there will be also continuous challenges as we have not seen the end of the development of COVID-19 yet.

We continue unabated with investments in both studios and new games. During ICE in London earlier this year, 12 new titles were announced, of which two went live during the first quarter; Speed Blackjack and Lightning Baccarat. Today, 23 April, we are launching Mega Ball – including a First Person version. Mega Ball is our first game in the lottery vertical. During its beta phase, the game has exhibited a high attraction and it will be interesting to follow the games development. In addition, we will extend our First Person portfolio with three more launching in the second quarter. Another two table games will also be launched during the quarter, Power Blackjack and Baccarat Multiplay.

The construction of our new studio in Pennsylvania continues but with a postponed timetable due to the COVID-19 situation. However, our aim to launch it before year-end remains. Michigan has accelerated its casino regulation process and we hope that the state soon will be the third regulated market in the US. In South Africa we have received a National Manufacturer license. The license means that Evolution now is able to offer its and the subsidiary Ezugi’s products to all licensed gaming operators in South Africa.

To conclude, I am proud of how we have started off the year from a financial perspective, but even prouder of how we have handled these difficult times from an operational standpoint. All employees have showed that they are fast-paced, flexible and that even in hard circumstances they are able to maintain their focus on our given path; to continue to increase the gap to the competition and to strengthen our leading position.”

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The Nomination Committee’s Proposal of Catena Media’s Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting 2024

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The Nomination Committee’s Proposal of Catena Media’s Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting 2024
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The Nomination Committee of Catena Media proposed re-election of the following members of the Board of Directors:

Øystein Engebretsen

Theodore Bergquist

Adam Krejcik

Sean Hurley

The Nomination Committee proposed that Erik Flinck and Dan Castillo be elected as new members of the Board of Directors.

Göran Blomberg, Esther Teixeira-Boucher and Austin Malcomb have declined re-election as board members.

The Nomination Committee proposed that there will be six (6) members of the Board of Directors, changed from seven (7).

The Nomination Committee also proposed Erik Flinck to be elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Erik Flinck, born in 1980, currently provides high end business consulting combined with serving as Chairman for the digital health startup, dr HUD. Mr Flinck previously served as Head of BCG Sweden and has extensive experience from corporate management, growth and turnarounds from nearly 20 years of Management Consulting and serving as Head of Group Strategy and M&A at Sandvik AB. He has a Masters Degree in Engineering (Software development and Financial Mathematics) from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and a Masters Degree in Business and Administration from Stockholm University and Stockholm School of Business.

Born in 1980, Dan Castillo has accumulated over 20 years of experience across startups, growth companies and turnarounds. Since 2015, Castillo has invested in Catena Media, maintaining a close watch on its progression, especially after its IPO in 2016. He has previous experience of listed board work in Kotipizza which Orkla acquired in 2018. He currently serves on the boards of five companies in different sectors, including Quartr.com in Fintech and Hope Studios in movie production. His academic background includes studies in Finance and Economics at Linköping University.

The Nomination Committee of Catena Media consists of:

Nicklas Paulson, representing Investment AB Öresund (chair of the nomination committee)

Marianne Stenberg, representing Second Swedish National Pension Fund

Martin Zetterlund, representing Niklas Karlsson

Göran Blomberg, chairman of the board of Catena Media.

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IGT Announces Executive and Board Leadership Changes

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IGT Announces Executive and Board Leadership Changes
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International Game Technology PLC (IGT) announced that on March 21, 2024, its Board of Directors implemented changes to the Company’s Board and executive team.

Marco Drago announced that he will step down from his role as a non-executive director of the IGT Board of Directors. He will carry out his remaining term and depart from the Board at the conclusion of the Company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on May 14, 2024.

Enrico Drago has been appointed by the IGT Board of Directors as a non-executive director of the IGT Board. In addition, Enrico Drago will resign from his current role of CEO of IGT PlayDigital, and Gil Rotem, who is currently IGT PlayDigital President of iGaming, will expand his role to become IGT PlayDigital President and report directly to Vince Sadusky, CEO of IGT. These changes will be effective April 1, 2024. Enrico Drago will continue in his role as vice chairman of De Agostini S.p.A.

“As Marco Drago prepares to step down from his position on the IGT Board of Directors, I’d like to thank him for his many years of service and his unwavering commitment to driving results and creating value for all IGT stakeholders. Enrico Drago joining the Board and leaving his executive leadership position at IGT is a natural evolution that supports the Company’s vision for its next era of growth and transformation. Enrico’s value-creation mindset and understanding of global growth opportunities will enhance the Board and align with IGT’s strategic priorities,” said Marco Sala, IGT Executive Chair of the Board.

“Watching and guiding IGT through its evolution from a collection of companies that started with Lottomatica and GTECH grow into a unified global gaming leader has been very gratifying. We have been fortunate to have a great group of board members and business unit leaders that have helped drive IGT’s growth during this time. I thank them for their contributions and am certain that IGT is positioned for continued growth as we go forward with the bold initiatives we have undertaken,” said Marco Drago, IGT Non-Executive Director.

“Over the last five-plus years, IGT PlayDigital has established leadership positions in the global iGaming and North American sports betting sectors that will be foundational to the Company’s future successes. I thank the entire IGT PlayDigital team for all that we have accomplished in this time, and I look forward to supporting IGT in a new capacity and further helping the Company define its vision and strategy,” said Enrico Drago, CEO of IGT PlayDigital.

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Bidstack Executive Team Acquires Bidstack Limited and all its Subsidiaries

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Bidstack Executive Team Acquires Bidstack Limited and all its Subsidiaries
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The executive team of Bidstack has acquired Bidstack Limited and all the operating entities of the Group, from the administrators of Bidstack Group PLC. The deal sees James Draper, Founder & CEO, and the executive team of Bidstack Ltd become significant majority shareholders.

All contracts and client relationships will continue within the new ownership structure – safeguarding jobs for the UK and European-based staff.

Bidstack, the multi award-winning in-game middleware technology provider that initially set about bringing programmatic advertising revenue to the most renowned sports gaming franchises in the world, has diversified into a broader offering, taking advantage of the most advanced off-engine content management system in gaming.

Following the announcement of a partnership with the Washington Commanders, where the NFL franchise became the first-ever sports team to utilise a platform to control advertising within their virtual stadium, across official NFL games, from multiple studios and developers, the management team has been focusing on sports rights holders as a key customer type.

The executive team has the support of the world’s leading rights-holder professionals in the sports industry. It will continue to execute from its position as the leading technology for the sports industry, for fan engagement and brand activations, in video games.

The executive management consists of James Draper continuing as Chief Executive Officer, with Lisa Hau stepping up to Chief Financial Officer, Dave Garvey continuing as Chief Legal Officer, Will Stewart moving to Chief Product Officer and Daniel Barrigas to Chief Technology Officer.

James Draper, Bidstack’s Founder & CEO, said: “The acquisition is a pivotal moment for the next phase of growth for the business. Our technology is at the forefront of sports technology, and I couldn’t be more excited. I am proud that we are able to reward our ambitious and industry-pioneering team and have them as shareholders alongside myself.”

“I want to thank the staff and customers for standing by us during this strategic review, which has obviously been an uncertain period. For all of our customers to have stood strong alongside us is testament to the relationships we’ve built over the years, as well as the incredible staff we have here who have fostered those connections.

“The company can now focus on the enormous potential we have, to enable sports teams to get closer to their fans and improve the player experience by bringing their virtual IP to life, with real-time messaging, rewards and engagements.

“Thank you to the management team who have invested to protect the incredible work our talented group has produced. It’s extremely motivating to see the unwavering belief we collectively have in our vision and product. Sadly, the public market is an uncertain place currently, and it’s a challenging environment for growth businesses such as ours.

“The interest and support we’ve had from some of the leading players in the sports industry has given our team great confidence and motivation as we work with some of the world’s largest sporting franchises and leagues.

“Thank you to everyone’s support and to our Board of Directors, who have assisted myself and management throughout.”

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