Sportech release pre-close update

sportech-pre-close-update

sportech-pre-close-updateOne of the company’s thought to be at an advanced stage as far as bidding for the Tote is concerned, Sportech, today released their pre-close trading update for 2010 with all areas of the business performing as expected.

The group is reporting that EBITDA is expected to be £19.7million for the year, after what has been a busy time for the group.

The year itself saw Sportech expand their North American operations with the acquisition of Scientific Games Racing (SGR), now renamed Sportech Racing, as one of their highlights. Now that the extraction of Sporting Racing from SGR is almost completed they’re set for what the year has to bring them.

As far as eGaming is concerned, 2010 was a year of transition for Sportech as plans were rolled out for the migration of their bingo, casino and poker activities to Playtech by Q4 of the coming year.

Ian Penrose, Chief Executive of Sportech PLC commented: “2010 has been a transformational year for Sportech. We completed a major acquisition of Scientific Games Racing, positioning Sportech as one of the world’s leading suppliers and operators of pools and tote gaming. We have also continued to modernise our existing operations. In a tough trading environment the Group continued to generate strong cash flows enabling material debt reduction.”

The group added that they’d be continuing to challenge the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for a claim of £40million for overpayment of VAT between 1979 and 1996. Results for the year will be announced on March 24