GVC sees £15m of extra cost savings in 2020

GVC Holdings said it would save an extra £15m of costs in 2020 as the company's integration of Ladbrokes Coral went quicker than expected.

The FTSE 100 betting company said on Thursday that there was no change to its total target of £130m in cost savings by 2022 from the acquisition of Ladbrokes Coral in March 2018. The extra savings in 2020 are from transferring Ladbrokes Coral's UK online brands onto GVC's platform ahead of plan.

A better-than-expected three-year review is likely to benefit earnings by about £15m a year from 2020, GVC said. Earlier guidance was for a negative impact of £145m in 2020 reducing to £120m in 2022. Guidance is now for an adverse earnings impact of £130m in 2020 reducing to £105m in 2022.

Before a presentation to investors, GVC said it was trading strongly and in line with expectations for annual earnings before interest tax and other items of £646m.

Chief executive Kenneth Alexander said: "We have had an excellent start to the year with strong momentum across all divisions continuing into the second quarter … We are making great progress on the Ladbrokes Coral integration and we have a clear roadmap for delivery in the US, where it remains early days, but there is no doubt that this is a great long-term opportunity for GVC."

Alexander said the presentation would set out how GVC's technology, products, brands, marketing, people and local execution were driving financial performance.

"These are the growth foundations that will enable us to deliver sustained double-digit online net gaming revenue growth converting to significant long-term profit growth," he said.