DAVY VIEW

While the departure of Kenny Alexander as Group CEO is likely to disappoint shareholders, his successor (Shay Segev) will come as little surprise. It should protect GVC’s current technology and M&A-led approach. Following several sector trading updates (including a short GVC AGM statement as recently as June 24th), its current trading is better understood. Group revenue fell by 22%, with the shuttering of its UK and European Retail businesses (almost 40% of FY19 revenue combined) offset by a stronger-than-expected Online performance (+23%). While the demand environment remains highly uncertain, H1 profit guidance (EBITDA c.£340-350m) should drive a material upgrade to current year estimates (c.£620m). FY21 EBITDA forecasts (c.£850m), back to c.90% of pre-COVID levels, already appear more realistic.