AGTech revenues fall 8% in H1
The firm has posted an 8 per cent drop in revenue for the first half of 2020 but has identified opportunities for the upcoming year.
Hong Kong.- The lottery and mobile gaming technology firm, AGTech, has reported an 8 per cent drop in revenue for the first half of 2020, to US$5.6 million.
The company, which is owned by Alibaba Group, said the drop was mainly due to a fall in sales of lottery hardware of approximately HK$6.6 million (US$851,596), and a fall of HK$1 million (US$129,028) in revenue from its games and entertainment division.
The firm said: “The decrease in revenue from hardware business was due to slower tendering processes and hardware deliveries in several provinces as compared to the corresponding period in 2019 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Revenues for the six months ending June 30 were approximately HK$43.9 million (US$5.6 million), derived from lottery hardware, lottery games and systems, provision of lottery distribution and ancillary services, games and entertainment.
The lottery games and systems unit reported revenue of HK$4.6 million (US$593,526), with a boost in sales volume from virtual sports lottery games in the second quarter after the reopening of PRC lottery market.
Operating loss was approximately HK$105.6 million (US$13.6 million), representing a decrease of approximately 12.1 per cent over the corresponding period in 2019.
AGTech said lottery market sales in China had dropped 41.7 per cent in the first half of the year, compared to the same period in 2019, due to the impact of Covid-19 and the fact business hours of lottery sales outlets were significantly reduced.
In the same period its hardware division won five tenders to supply lottery terminals to the SLACs in Anhui province, Shanxi province, Jilin province, Hubei province and Guizhou province.
It stated: “The group will continue to pursue tenders to supply to the lottery and other hardware market and bid for new contracts after resumption of tenders post Covid-19 delays. Transition to new retail models presents a great opportunity for the further development of the group’s hardware business.”
AGTech also mentioned the recent introduction of sporting content and sports intelligence services into the lottery channel as an opportunity and identified instant scratch lottery games as an important product initiative for the coming year.
It said: “We will be dedicating resources to open up this market within the lottery sector”.
