FansUnite Reports First Quarter 2023 Financial Results
- Gross margin of $5.41 million (62%) for the first quarter of Fiscal 2023 as compared to $5.90 million (61%) over the same period in Fiscal 2022
- Unrestricted cash increased to $5.18 million as of March 31, 2023 as compared to $2.91 million on December 31, 2022
- Completion of a $3.04 million non-brokered private placement, led by strategic investor Tekkorp Capital
- Company to host Q1 Fiscal 2023 Earnings Call on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, at 10:00 AM EST / 7:00 AM PST
Vancouver, British Columbia–(May 15, 2023) – FansUnite Entertainment Inc. (TSX: FANS) (OTCQB: FUNFF) (“FansUnite” or the “Company”) announced that it has filed its condensed consolidated interim financial statements and associated management’s discussion and analysis (“MD&A”) for the three months ended March 31, 2023. All amounts are stated in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.
Q1 Fiscal 2023 Earnings Call Details
Day: Tuesday, May 16, 2023
Time: 10:00 AM (EST) / 7:00 AM (PST)
Topic: FansUnite’s Q1 Fiscal 2023 financial results and growth outlook for the remainder of 2023
Please click the link below to register for the earnings call.
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vF3kuYDrQh6QPylcYuYqSg
First Quarter Fiscal 2023 Financial Highlights:
- Total revenue of $8.73 million, a decrease of approximately 11% over the same period in Fiscal 2022
- Gross margin of $5.41 million (62%) as compared to $5.90 million (61%) over the same period in Fiscal 2022
- Net loss of $6.15 million in Q1 Fiscal 2023 which includes non-cash expenses of $6.39 million, as compared to $9.17 million over the same period in Fiscal 2022, which includes non-cash expenses of $10.31 million
- Unrestricted cash increased to $5.18 million as of March 31, 2023 as compared to $2.91 million on December 31, 2022
- As of March 31, 2023, the Company had a net working capital of $5.90 million as compared to $(4.16) million as of December 31, 2022
First Quarter Fiscal 2023 Operational Highlights:
- On February 2, 2023, FansUnite announced that the Company’s customer acquisition, retention, and development brand, Betting Hero, has been shortlisted as finalists for the following five award categories in the 2023 iGB Affiliate Awards:
o Best Sports Betting Affiliate
o Best Casino Affiliate
o Rising Star
o Innovation Award
o Affiliate Employer of the Year
- On February 9, 2023, FansUnite announced a transaction that will result in Stram Entertainment Limited, d.b.a. BestOdds, acquiring one of the Company’s affiliate brands, BetPrep. As part of the transaction, BestOdds will pay FansUnite a 30% revenue share for 36 months (subject to a minimum monthly guarantee), after the agreed upon ramp-up period ends on September 1, 2023.
- On February 27, 2023, FansUnite reported that Betting Hero registered more than 6,700 new depositing customers for its sportsbook partners, setting a new Company record for new depositing customers in a four-day period during the Super Bowl LVII weekend.
- On March 14, 2023, FansUnite announced that the Company and Betting Hero were shortlisted as finalists for the following six award categories in the 2023 EGR North America Awards (and won three on May 1, 2023):
o Sportsbook Platform Provider of the Year
o Affiliate of the Year
o Employer of the Year (winner)
o Diversity & Inclusion Model of the Year
o Acquisition & Retention Partner of the Year (winner)
o Customer Onboarding Partner of the Year (winner)
- On March 16, 2023, FansUnite completed a $3.04 million non-brokered private placement offering (the “Offering”) led by Tekkorp Capital and affiliates (“Tekkorp”), an investment firm that advises and invests in innovative public and private companies within the global digital gaming industry, in which a total of $1.4 million was invested into FansUnite by both Tekkorp and FansUnite’s insiders and management.
“The work we began in 2022 to reduce costs and streamline operations are being reflected in our results,” said Scott Burton, CEO of FansUnite. “The first quarter of 2023 saw an increase in gross margin to 62%, a decrease in net loss to $6.4 million as compared to $9.2 million in Q1 of the prior year while we generated positive cash flow from our operations. Additionally, we reached multiple strategic milestones, including the sale of one of our affiliate brands, BetPrep, to achieve cost-savings and reallocate our resources to other high-revenue segments as well as the Company obtaining a prominent strategic investor, Tekkorp Capital, in our recent financing.”
Subsequent Events to First Quarter Fiscal 2023:
- On May 1, 2023, FansUnite signed a definitive agreement pursuant to which the Company sold to an arm’s length third-party all of the shares in its wholly-owned subsidiary McBookie Ltd. (“McBookie”).
- On May 8, 2023, FansUnite sold (“Transaction”) the source code related to the Company’s Chameleon Gaming Platform (the “Platform”) to Betr Holdings Inc. (“Betr”) and retained the use of the Platform and code to further develop and maintain the Platform, and the ability to sell such use to another buyer in the future. Future code sales by FansUnite would not include any future enhancements made by Betr following the closing of the Transaction. The Transaction terms included total consideration of approximately $10 million (the “Purchase Price”), comprised of:
o $3 million in cash paid on closing;
o $2 million in Series A2 Preferred Shares of Betr (the “Preferred Shares”), to be settled through warrants (each, a “Warrant”) to purchase the Preferred Shares at a price of USD$0.01 per Preferred Share; and
o Milestone payments of up to $5 million payable over 12 months following the closing of the Transaction upon achievement of certain integration milestones, payable as to $3 million in cash and as to $2 million payable by way of Warrants to purchase Preferred Shares at a price of USD$0.01 per Preferred Share.
- The net proceeds of the Transaction and the sale of McBookie, were divided with a portion allocated to pay money owed to Centurion Financial Trust, an investment trust formed by Centurion Asset Management Inc., pursuant to the loan (the “Loan”) announced in the Company’s September 19, 2022 news release. The Loan amount was reduced by approximately $5.5 million.
Growth Outlook
The Company will continue to expand its affiliate operations into new markets in accordance with its sportsbook partners’ operations. In addition, Betting Hero aims to diversify its revenue streams and provide additional service offerings through its Hero Research and Hero Hotline services.
FansUnite will also continue to assess and streamline various business units to maximize cost efficiency and improve overall revenue growth. This has resulted in the sales of strategic assets such as BetPrep, McBookie and the recently announced Chameleon Gaming Platform source code.
Mr. Burton added, “We are going to continue our focus on growing our high margin and profitable U.S. affiliate-centric businesses, primarily Betting Hero and its new divisions. The affiliate side of our business has continued to produce substantial revenues while having a strong foothold in the affiliate business. The focus moving forward will be to execute on new revenue opportunities while driving improved margins and positioning FansUnite as a business that generates significant cash flow in the global gaming market.”
About FansUnite Entertainment Inc.
FansUnite is a global sports entertainment and gaming company, focused on the regulated and lawful sports betting affiliate market which includes customer acquisition, retention, support and reactivation. FansUnite has established itself as a leader in the North American affiliate market through its subsidiary American Affiliate Co LLC (“AmAff” or “American Affiliate”). AmAff is a North American omni-channel customer acquisition company, covering both retail and digital customer activation for sportsbooks, casinos, poker and fantasy sports platforms.
For further information, please contact:
Prit Singh, Investor Relations at FansUnite
(905) 510-7636
DISCLAIMER REGARDING FINANCIAL INFORMATION:
This news release contains unaudited financial information for the three months ended March 31, 2023, which has been prepared by management based on information currently available to the Company. Accordingly, such financial information may be subject to change based on the results of the Company’s year-end audit. The making of a modifying or superseding statement shall not be deemed an admission for any purposes that the modified or superseded statement, when made, constituted a misrepresentation for purposes of applicable securities laws.
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION:
This news release contains certain statements that may constitute forward-looking information under applicable securities laws. All statements, other than those of historical fact, which address activities, events, outcomes, results, developments, performance or achievements that FansUnite anticipates or expects may or will occur in the future (in whole or in part) should be considered forward-looking information. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates”, or “believes” or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or statements formed in the future tense or indicating that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” (or other variations of the forgoing) be taken, occur, be achieved, or come to pass. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, the Company’s strategic objectives, goals, growth outlook, strategy and focus including reaching profitability through expanding Betting Hero’s operations across new markets and identifying opportunities for operational efficiency and revenue growth; andthe Company expanding its service offering.
Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by the Company in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, including, but not limited to, expectations and assumptions concerning: interest and foreign exchange rates; capital efficiencies, cost saving and synergies; growth and growth rates; the success in the online gambling and sports betting industry; the regulatory environment applicable to online gambling and sports betting; the technological infrastructure and support needed to host the Company’s online gambling and sports betting platforms and applications; any cryptocurrency applications to the Company’s business; and the Company’s growth plan. While FansUnite considers these assumptions to be reasonable, based on information currently available, they may prove to be incorrect. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without limitation, risks associated with general economic conditions; audit-risks; risks associated with the regulatory environments in the jurisdictions the Company operates in; technology-related risks that could adversely affect the Company’s ability to operate its online gambling and sports betting platforms and applications, risks related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic and any effects it might have on the Company’s business thereto. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive. For more information on the risk, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause anticipated opportunities and actual results to differ materially, please refer to the public filings of FansUnite which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and reflect our expectations as of the date hereof, and thus are subject to change thereafter. FansUnite disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.