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Cherry Interim Report January–March 2018

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Cherry Interim Report January–March 2018Reading Time: 4 minutes

Strong growth and earnings performance

FIRST QUARTER
• Group revenue increased by 26 percent to SEK 681 million (541), with organic revenue growth amounting to 25 percent (44).
• Profitability improved and EBITDA increased by 131 percent to SEK 192 million (83) and the EBITDA margin was 28 percent (15).
• Profit for the period amounted to SEK 89 million (36).
• Earnings per share before and after dilution amounted to SEK 0.96 (0.24) and SEK 0.96 (0.24).
• On 1 January 2018, ComeOn acquired Get Lucky Ltd.
• On 29 January 2018, Game Lounge acquired the website Slottracker.com.

EVENTS AFTER THE END OF THE PERIOD
• On 12 April, Game Lounge acquired the SEO specialist TodaysWeb.
• On 16 April, the owners of Cherry’s senior secured bond loan 2016/2020 of up to EUR 200 million (ISIN SE0008321616), established the proposed Group internal restructuring schedule.
• On 25 April, Lahcene Merzoug was appointed new Managing Director of ComeOn.
• On 26 April, Cherry announced a revised date for its Annual General Meeting: 30 May 2018.
• On 30 April, Cherry called on the option to acquire an additional 7.5 percent of the shares in Almor Holding Ltd, including the brands Sunnyplayer and Sunmaker. Following the acquisition, Cherry holds 90.0 percent of the shares in Almor.

Comments by the CEO

We can look forward to another eventful year

The first quarter of 2018 shows that Cherry’s business model yields good results. Growth continued with increased profitability, and we see good prospects for 2018 becoming a good year for Cherry’s shareholders.

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Cherry’s business concept is to create shareholder value by owning and developing fast-growing gaming, entertainment and media companies. In 2017, we have taken steps, large and small, to strengthen existing market positions – at the same time as we have invested in the future. I am proud of the entrepreneurial power of the employees within all of the Group’s companies. This is one of the most important reasons for being able to offer our customers good products as well as for having a stable financial basis for continued development.

The first quarter of 2018 was a good start to the year, and I see good prospects of this year becoming an eventful one. There are ongoing efforts within Cherry’s business areas to launch several new products that we believe will create interest among existing customers. Equally important are the efforts several of the companies are making in new market segments. For our industry as a whole, 2018 will be a year with several significant events. We are seeing ongoing discussions regarding regulation of the gaming market in different countries, legislation that in various ways affects the gaming companies operating in the industry, as well as customer demand and expectations that are changing faster than ever before.

STRONG DEVELOPMENT IN THE BEGINNING OF 2018

The Group’s revenue in the first quarter of 2018 increased by 26 percent, of which 25 percent was organic growth. EBITDA increased by 131 percent, from SEK 83 million to SEK 192 million. In addition to the continuous work to strengthen profitability, this improvement is mainly due to ongoing efficiency enhancement measures within ComeOn, a company in the business area Online Gaming. The business area’s revenue for the first quarter increased by 18 percent compared with the corresponding quarter in 2017, while earnings improved significantly, from SEK 57 million to SEK 143 million, an increase of 151 percent.

After the end of the period, ComeOn has appointed Lahcene Merzoug new Managing Director. I am pleased that the company has found a strong candidate for this important position and look forward to welcoming Lahcene. I am also glad that the Interim Managing Director, Tomas Johansson, will stay on as advisor to the Cherry Group, supporting Lahcene and the company’s management group as well as contributing to strengthening and broadening Cherry’s position as an innovating and fast-growing company with operations in gaming, entertainment and media.

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All companies are developing well, and I particularly want to highlight the turnaround that ComeOn’s new management has accomplished in a short time, as well as Yggdrasil Gaming, which has continuously delivered games and tools that have set the standard, and which all established gaming operators must have in their offering. Yggdrasil had a significant market presence at the industry’s biggest meeting event, ICE, in London, and many took the opportunity to play the company’s new table game in a 3D environment. The third company that is developing particularly strongly is Game Lounge, which has strong organic growth and has made some additional acquisitions, such as Slottracker.com and, in April, search engine specialist TodaysWeb.

In the coming months, Highlight Games will launch its game, SOCCERBET, in Italy, which is one of Europe’s largest gaming markets. The game is a sportsbook based on a unique combination of filmed clips from European league football and can be played both online and in game stores, closely approximating the feeling of watching live football matches. We expect the game to reach both existing and new customer categories and to be introduced in additional countries.

 

INNOVATIVE EFFORTS
With its curiosity and market expertise, Cherry will strengthen and develop its position within gaming, entertainment and media. We want to be the obvious partner for entrepreneurs working in this industry. Cherry can offer a strong platform and support for ideas and products, from start to market launch as well as establishment of a sustainable and long-term business. I look forward to participating in Cherry’s ventures to create many new business opportunities and companies that will continue to lead the development as Cherry has done since its inception in 1963.

MARKET OUTLOOK

The gaming market is currently growing strongly and Cherry estimates that demand in the Group’s largest geographic markets will continue to develop favourably. The Group continuously studies conditions for new business within the related business areas and geographic markets in and outside of Europe.

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The Group’s focus is on creating shareholder value by being an active participant in the development of new and existing companies within the gaming, media and entertainment sector. The objective is for the companies to become market leaders in their respective areas by building their core values of entrepreneurship, responsibility and commitment. These are important prerequisites for the Group to be able to achieve its financial targets and to continue its successful profitable growth, through both organic growth and acquisitions, in existing and new verticals, and geographic markets.


Source: European Gaming Media and Events

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What makes Turbo Games’ provably fair games so special?

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A partnership between game developer Turbo Games and iGaming solution provider and aggregator Slotegrator began in November 2022 via the APIgrator game integration solution. Since then, the collaboration has been developing successfully — and now it’s time to analyze what made it successful.

Turbo Games has noticed how the new technologies spreading throughout the industry can work for the good of brand transparency and player loyalty: “We can already see how blockchain technology has made it possible to make betting checks more accessible to players. All you need is a blockchain-hash and a decoder service. We think we will continue to move in this direction. Many traditional online casinos do not offer the possibility to check the bet. Sooner or later we all have to come to this. Perhaps the development of artificial intelligence will help here, because we are already seeing its involvement in all spheres of human life.”

Turbo Games specializes in provably fair games. Provable fairness is a concept where players can verify their wins or losses using blockchain technology — the outcome of the game is dictated by a smart contract and is absolutely random, barring the possibility of any human involvement. Using cryptographic hashing algorithms, the gambling site and the player’s device both generate seeds (random strings of numbers). Players receive a key that allows them to check the results; if the results are the same as the game round they witnessed, it proves that there was no foul play.

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According to statistics from Turbo Games, the audience for provably fair games is mostly between 18 and 25 years old. However, there are also players aged 35-40 who prefer traditional games but would like to try something new, and have turned their attention to provably fair games.

There are good odds that the technology of provably fair games will become more popular, if not even commonplace, because it gives players a feeling of transparency and proves that the business is trustworthy without the need to search through dozens of reviews. Whereas many innovations in iGaming simply add entertainment, provable fairness addresses security concerns and reassures players that they’re not being exploited, which is invaluable.

Provably fair games are beneficial for both players and online casinos. Vadim Potapenko, Head of Sales at Turbo Games, comments: “It often happens that the users are not satisfied with the result, because gambling is not only about big wins, but also possible losses. By allowing them to check the fairness of a bet, we make life easier for platforms and players. Of course, this allows us to communicate with partners and users that we work honestly and that’s why they should trust our games.”

Ayvar Gabidullin, Business Development Manager at Slotegrator, adds that “this type of game is now becoming more and more popular and has great potential for both players and game providers in the future. On the part of the player, the advantage is that the player can always be sure that his game is fair and he can independently check any of his bets. And for the game provider, this also simplifies the process of implementing casino games, since now it will not be necessary to obtain the appropriate certificates from independent laboratories before launching new games, they can immediately enter the market with these games and where anyone can check the result and make sure that that there is no cheating with players. Many game providers are starting to look towards this type of game. And as far as I see, many operators are starting to think about adding these games.”

What do players in 2023 need? The iGaming industry is all about reputation and trust. Players have a huge number of platforms to choose from, making them pickier and pickier. There’s an abundance of forums where players leave reviews, so if players view a brand as untrustworthy, there are plenty of places they can share their opinion. Provable fairness not only stops that from happening, it provides evidence to the contrary, giving players something else to talk about.

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Slotegrator also recommends investing time and effort into localization and creating an effective and detailed marketing strategy — before trying provably fair technology players need to get to the platform, and there is no acquisition without marketing.

 

 ABOUT SLOTEGRATOR

Since 2012, Slotegrator has been one of the iGaming industry’s leading software and business solution providers for online casino and sportsbook operators.

The company’s main focus is software development and support for online casino platforms, as well as the integration of game content and payment systems.

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The company works with licensed game developers and offers a vast portfolio of casino content: slots, live casino games, poker, virtual sports, table games, lotteries, casual games, and data feeds for betting.

Slotegrator also provides consulting services in gambling license acquisition and business incorporation.

More information: https://slotegrator.pro/

 

ABOUT TURBO GAMES

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Turbo Games — a provably fair games provider that belongs to Turbo Stars company — has an ambitious goal to establish widespread recognition throughout the iGaming world. Even though it is young, the company consists of professionals who have been working on the brand for over five years and are even planning to introduce a new brand for a wider audience soon.

Turbo Games also works in Europe, India, and South Africa, where the company sees the most potential and expects the same “hype” as in Brazil.

The portfolio of Turbo Games consists of 21 titles, including well-known games like Mines, Crash X, DoubleRoll, Hi-Lo, and Plinko. The studio releases a game every month. However, not all games are developed from scratch. Wicket Blast and Spin Strike, the last two releases, are based on cricket and the Indian Premier League. Crash X remains the most popular fast game in the Turbo Games portfolio, and the studio reports that crash games enjoy stable levels of popularity. Overall, the main focus of the brand is provably fair games.

More information: https://turbogames.io/

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Games Factory Talents has teamed up with Nordic Game to bring you Nordic Game Talents.

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Looking to take your career to the next level in the games industry? Then, Nordic Game Talents is the place to be! Games Factory Talents has teamed up with Nordic Game to bring you Nordic Game Talents.

From Oct 27-29, the online and interactive event is dedicated to recruitment and career building in the creative & games industry within the Nordic region. The event empowers participants to be part of a bigger community and motivates them to explore new paths in achieving their career goals.

Hiring creative & games studios – Supercell, Funcom, Panzerdog, Tactile Games, Gamecan, Fingersoft, Dazzle Rocks, Redhill Games to name a few from the Nordic region will be participating in the event. These studios will share information on their latest projects, work culture and what it takes to be part of their team. The individual games associations from Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Estonia will share insights through live sessions on the booming games industry in their respective countries. Career development topics pertinent to job seekers like – How to have a successful first interview, Creative Portfolio reviews will also be discussed.

Experienced game industry professionals and individuals beginning their careers from around the world are welcome to join the event. One-to-one interviews with the hiring studios can be scheduled through the event platform. A great opportunity to get to know the studios and network with game professionals from around the world.

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Participating in the event

As a job seeker attending Nordic Game Talents, take a few minutes to fill out a simple registration form. After filling the registration form you will receive a link to the online event platform – PINE, to join the event on 27th October. Participants joining Nordic Game Talents will also receive a free-of-charge pass to the Nordic Game Conference.

To view the complete agenda, please click here and to learn more about the event please visit Games Job Fair

About Games Factory Talents

A Helsinki-based talent attraction agency dedicated to the games & creative industry. Our services include direct recruitment, organizing game job fairs and managing a community of game industry professionals through our GameDev Talent Board.

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To learn more about Games Factory Talents visit – Games Factory Talents

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810 THE SPREAD

Cumulus Media Launches 810 THE SPREAD, the Bay Area’s First Sports Station Focused on Sports Betting

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Cumulus Media (NASDAQ: CMLS) announces that it has launched the Bay Area’s first Sports radio station focused on sports betting, 810 THE SPREAD. The new station brings sports and sports betting news, information, and insights to the burgeoning and underserved sports betting audience in San Francisco. 810 THE SPREAD will deliver behind-the-book perspectives from experts in a highly entertaining and engaging format. 810 THE SPREAD goes live today on the legendary 810am frequency that has been the 80-year home of historic Talk Radio KGO-AM. Cumulus San Francisco also launched the station’s new website at www.810thespread.com. Kevin Graham, Program Director of Cumulus’ sister sports stations KNBR 680AM/104.5FM and 1050 KTCT, adds Program Director duties for 810 THE SPREAD.

Larry Blumhagen, Vice President/Market Manager, Cumulus San Francisco, said: “810 THE SPREAD joins our sports brands KNBR 680AM/104.5FM and 1050 KTCT for a trifecta of dynamic sports content across four signals and streaming everywhere. We are excited about this new chapter and look forward to serving the Bay Area’s passionate sports fans in an incomparable way.”

Blumhagen added: “This is a bittersweet day for us, as it’s hard to say goodbye to the legendary KGO, which has been a part of listeners’ lives for so many years. We want to thank all the people who have been a part of KGO’s historic run these many years – and the listeners who loyally tuned in to the station. Times change, and we must change with them.”

Kevin Graham, Program Director, 810 THE SPREAD, said: “810 THE SPREAD will be the Bay Area’s best bet for sports fans and sports betting enthusiasts, and we are pleased to introduce sports-betting radio to our community. The station will feature a lineup of expert personalities that deliver unique sports talk and sports betting insights that entertain, inform, and engage, along with Cal Football and Basketball as well as select professional and college sports play-by-play events. While 810 THE SPREAD will feature specific gambling information, we believe our entertaining presentation will make it a favorite for all Bay area sports fans and a perfect complement to the legendary KNBR and KTCT. With its addition, it truly shows Cumulus’ commitment to the Bay area as ‘The Sports Leader’!”

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The weekday programming lineup for 810 THE SPREAD includes:

6am-9am – Bet QL Daily – The must-consume show for sports fans and betting fans alike. Hosted by Joe Ostrowski, Joe Giglio, and Erin Hawksworth.

9am-12pm – Jim Rome - Aggressive, informed sports opinions, rapid-fire dialogue, and plenty of sports smack. As one of the most prolific sports talk hosts in America, Rome draws massive tune-in with legions of fans known as clones, who live for Rome’s take on the day’s largest issues in sports.

12pm-4pm – You Better You Bet – Nick Kostos and Ken Barkley have you covered for the best bets on the biggest matchups, the latest line movement and updates in the futures market. We’ll have up-to-the-minute coverage of backdoor covers and bad beats, and the cheers and tears that come with them. It’s sports betting conversation like you’ve never heard before.

4pm-8pm – Bet MGM Tonight – Live sports betting updates for all the night’s games as they happen – plus live “look-ins” for Major League Baseball games in progress. Get the latest scores, sides, totals, props, parlays, futures, and much more with hosts Quinton Mayo, Trysta Krick, and Ryan Horvat.

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8pm-12 Midnight – CBS Sports Radio

BetQL Network programming is provided by Cumulus Media’s Westwood One through a partnership with Audacy.

For more information or to stream 810 THE SPREAD, visit: http://www.810thespread.com.

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