Overall financial objective: Growth in earnings per share
Financial objectives
Financial goals
Growth in earnings per share
Acroud’s target is to, over time, increase earnings per share with an average of at least 20% per year. Annual growth in earnings per share is the overall financial objective. It is Acroud’s assessment that strong growth in earnings per share is the best measure for creating shareholder value over time.
Organic revenue growth
Acroud’s long-term target is organic revenue growth in the range of 15 to 25%.
Acroud will continuously invest in the core business and new internal growth initiatives to ensure strong and sustainable organic growth. The time when growth initiatives bear fruit may vary, which means that organic growth may fluctuate over time.
It should be noted that Acroud’s definition of organic growth in the future will be based solely on net sales compared with the previous period, excluding acquisitions (last 12 months) and divestments, and exchange rate movements.
Capital structure
Acroud’s long-term target is a maximum net debt/EBITDA ratio of 2.0 over time.
Acroud will conduct operations at low financial risk over time by means of low net debt. The Board is entitled to derogate from this objective during periods when this is considered best for the Company and for shareholder value.
Dividend
To prioritise acquisitive growth, internal growth projects, and capital structure above dividends during the next three years.
The company has historically also made a number of successful acquisitions which have migrated to the proprietary scalable platform, which has also contributed to underlying growth and earning capacity. It is important to emphasize that Acroud will continue to develop the M&A business and take part in the ongoing consolidation of the market when the right opportunity arises - however, priority will be given to a stronger focus on organic growth and capitalization of the underlying profitability of the business
Key commitments to Acroud updated financial targets
The market for iGaming is expected to continue to grow at an annual average growth rate of approximately 6-7 percent during the period 2020-2025. The proportion of gambling that takes place online (iGaming) today amounts to about 12 percent and is expected to increase to 15 percent in 2023. Net Gaming predicts continued sustainable underlying growth in the iGaming market.
Today, Sportsbetting accounts for about 50 percent of the iGaming market. Acroud has in 2019 strengthened its position in Sportsbetting through the development of the underlying business and the acquisition of MaxFreeBets, and expects in the long run to be able to generate higher growth than the average for the iGaming market overall from this vertical.
The United States is moving towards re-regulation in more and more states and now Sportsbetting is also allowed. Acroud has had assets in the US market since 2003 and we will be able to capitalize on these and new brands.
Acroud is today a leading player in the affiliate segment and has many years of relationships with our partners. Acroud expects to be able to maintain these partnerships and enter into new partnerships when more players establish themselves in the market.
Competition among affiliates remains unchanged with new entrants entering the market, while continued consolidation will take place.
