Annual Report and Postponement of 2020 AGM

RNS Number : 8050J

Sportech PLC

16 April 2020

 

For immediate release

16 April 2020

Sportech PLC

('Sportech' or the 'Group')

Annual Report and Postponement of 2020 Annual General Meeting

Sportech (LSE: SPO), an international betting technology business, announces that the Group's Annual Report and Accounts for the year ending 31 December 2019 ("2019 Annual Report and Accounts") will be posted to shareholders today, Thursday 16 April 2020, and will shortly be published under the Investors section on the Group's website atwww.sportechplc.com/investors/results.

The 2020 Annual General Meeting ("2020 AGM") was scheduled to be held on 20 May 2020 and in normal circumstances a Notice of AGM would have been circulated along with the 2019 Annual Report and Accounts. However, owing to public health guidance on social distancing, the Board has decided to postpone the 2020 AGM and will issue a Notice of AGM once the Board is confident that it can safely hold the meeting on a specified date, before the end of June 2020.

The 2019 Annual Report and Accounts sets out details of the Directors' 2019 incentive outcomes, and also references a revised remuneration policy for 2020 which was due to be considered by shareholders at the 2020 AGM. However, since the 2019 accounts were published on 19 March 2020, and as previously announced, the Company has been severely impacted by COVID-19, and as such the Remuneration Committee will consider the revised policy as appropriate. Given the significant business challenges due to COVID-19, the Company implemented the following appropriate steps back in March 2020:

· Deferred the payment of Directors' and senior managers' 2019 bonuses

· Group Chairman and CEO both took voluntary 50% pay cuts

· Postponed the application of the new long-term incentive policy

· Implemented a 2020 salary freeze

· Applied substantial agreed and voluntary payroll reductions across the Group

· A significant number of staff were furloughed; the impact differs greatly across geographies and the Group maintained health benefits for 550 furloughed US staff through April 2020

Recent Contract Wins

Business planning and the delivery of technology priorities continue, and the Group is pleased to announce the following contracts agreed in recent weeks:

· Extension of Digital Platform and commingling services agreements with Macau Jockey Club

· Extension of its Tote services contract with Monmouth Park in New Jersey, USA

· Extension of its Tote services contract with TVG for the growing New Jersey digital market

· New multi-year Tote services contracts with Emerald Downs Racetrack & Casino in Washington State and Wild Rose casino in Iowa, USA

Richard McGuire, CEO of Sportech, said: "Despite the obvious current challenges to the Group and the industries we serve, Sportech continues to engage clients positively to prioritise and plan effectively.  Like many businesses, we swiftly executed very difficult, but necessary, payroll cuts and reductions to our global workforce to support those jobs being restored in due course.  I remain encouraged by the continued dedication, passion and pride of the entire Sportech team, as further evidenced by those long-term contracts still being delivered in this environment."

A c opy of the 2019 Annual Report and Accounts document has been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/nsm .

- Ends -

Publication on website

A copy of this announcement is also available on the Group's website at www.sportechplc.com.

Contacts:

Sportech PLC	Tel: [phone]
Giles Vardey, Chairman Richard McGuire, Chief Executive Officer
Peel Hunt	Tel: [phone]
(Corporate Broker to Sportech) George Sellar / Andrew Clark / Will Bell
Buchanan	Tel: [phone]
(Financial PR adviser to Sportech) Henry Harrison-Topham / Mark Court / Jamie Hooper	[e-mail]

Notes to Editors:

About Sportech

Sportech PLC, an international betting technology business, delivers solutions and services for some of the world's best-known gaming companies, sports teams, racetracks, casinos and lottery clients as well as owning and operating its own gaming venues in Connecticut under exclusive licences.

The Group focuses on highly regulated markets worldwide. It has more than 29,000 betting terminals deployed to over 400 clients in 38 countries. Its global systems process US$12.3 billion in betting handle annually. In the US, it operates across 36 states. The Group has invested over US$60 million in the last five years in the successful expansion of its US gaming Venues, the diversification into raffle and lottery gaming platforms, and in developing its technology services, resulting in its proprietary Quantum™ System being the most widely deployed pari-mutuel betting system globally.

 

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