Privately-owned Perth tech company VGW Holdings has continued its spectacular growth, reporting a 63 per cent surge in revenue and a half-year profit of $308 million.
Led by founder and major shareholder Laurence Escalante, VGW is reaping the benefits of increased global usage of its online gaming products – Chumba Casino, Global Poker and Luckyland Slots.
Its revenue jumped 63 per cent to $1.54 billion for the half-year to December 2021.
The company disclosed profit before tax of $308 million but did not reveal after-tax profit.
The latest result follows an after-tax profit of $295 million for the 12 monthd to June 2021.
Shareholders have been richly rewarded – the company has declared an interim dividend of 18 cents per share, worth about $110 million, with Mr Escalante set to pocket about two thirds of that.
The company described the latest half-year result as exceptional, with its EBIT margin increasing to about 20 per cent.
It said this was ahead of expectations and demonstrated operating leverage as the business scaled.
It attributed the revenue growth to marketing and increased use of its products in its core market of North America.
The business said it has minimal capital expenditure needs, with all R&D and product development funded within existing employee expenses.
It has more than 900 staff across Perth, Sydney, Manila, San Francisco, Toronto and Malta.
The company is looking to diversify its products, with the development of a range of casual non-casino themed social games.
VGW’s strong performance has continued in the first two months of 2022.
Revenue in January was up 45 per cent compared to one year before while February was up 50 per cent on the prior year.
The company said February looks likely to be a near all-time record on profit margin.
“This shows the VGW business in North America trading strongly through the post Covid-19 normalisation period, and delivering strong growth even compared to prior strong growth periods,” the company stated.
In its shareholder update, VGW disclosed several initiatives to promote careers for women in technology.
It has partnered with Perth organisation SheCodes, led by 40under40 winner Kate Kirwin.
VGW said it sponsors SheCodes and volunteers at its software development workshops.
It has also partnered with Project F, which has an accreditation team that is auditing VGW’s internal policies and practices to remove any barriers to greater female participation.
