Bragg Gaming Group Reports First Quarter Results

Bragg has set a strong pace for the first quarter of 2019, achieving CDN $10.4M in revenue, the top of the expected range, and an increase of 203 per cent over the comparable period last year.

Gross profit increased by 181 per cent year-on-year to CDN $5.2M compared to CDN $1.8M in Q1 2018.

Overall, Bragg reported an EBITDA of CDN $63k and a net loss of CDN $1.9M, including a stock-based compensation charge of CDN $1.1M and depreciation and amortisation of CDN $0.8M.

Dominic Mansour, CEO of Bragg, said: “We’re very pleased with our results. It’s our first full quarter, and we’ve been focused on building a solid foundation for future growth. We delivered on our initial goals, including closing a number of divisions within the old Breaking Data organisation and completing a substantial restructure of the GiveMeSport (GMS) business. 

“We aggressively cost-managed GMS and pivoted the direction of the sports media site. Bragg was also able to break even at the EBITDA level by quarter-end, the first time in the company’s history and sooner than we expected.”

ORYX Gaming, Bragg’s flagship property, was a key contributor to the strong Q1 results, achieving CDN $9.2M in revenue during the quarter.

Mansour added: “ORYX had an exceptional Q1. Revenue is up 83 per cent over the same period in 2018, and we secured a number of key clients, signing 22 agreements over the quarter.

“We were also successful in our goal of diversifying our customer base. 49 per cent of ORYX’s revenue now comes from our top five customers; a very positive trend when compared to the first quarter of 2018, when over 75 per cent of revenue came from just two customers.”

GiveMeSport, Bragg’s sport media outlet, is also performing ahead of internal expectations. Following the first quarter restructure, the business is already seeing positive results in both its cost structure and key performance metrics. The number of unique Facebook users reached was 65.7M in Q1 with significant growth into Q2, while Facebook video views increased by 52 per cent year-to-date. The site also saw a 123 per cent jump in Facebook video interactions. The GiveMeSport business is currently planning a significant re-launch in the third quarter (August 2019) of the year.

Bragg also made notable changes in its board of directors in the first quarter, adding gaming industry veteran Jim Ryan, M&A expert Paul Pathak and Bragg CFO Akshay Kumar to the board. The company also changed its reporting currency to Canadian dollars and moved its fiscal year to calendar year.

Bragg recently announced it has appointed award-winning journalist Benny Bonsu to lead GiveMeSport’s new women’s sport division.

She will be tasked with building GiveMeSport Women, a global editorial brand dedicated to coverage of women’s sport.

Bonsu has held prior roles at the London 2012 Olympics, the National Basketball Association (NBA), BBC World Service, Sky Sports, MTG Africa, BT Sport and Matchroom Sport.

Bragg’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) will take place on June 27, 2019.