Playtika Holding Corp. Q4 and Full Year 2023 Prepared Remarks

Playtika Holding Corp.’s 2023 year-end performance reflects a strategic transition from a period of operational efficiency to a phase of active reinvestment and portfolio expansion. Despite facing revenue headwinds and a challenging mobile gaming landscape impacted by privacy-related marketing shifts, the company outperformed its internal guidance. Leadership attributes this resilience to a disciplined focus on streamlining operations, which improved free cash flow and enabled the initiation of a new capital allocation framework, including a quarterly dividend program and a commitment to deploy $600 million to $1.2 billion in mergers and acquisitions over the next three years.

Financial results for 2023 included $2.567 billion in total revenue, a 1.9% year-over-year decline, alongside $832.2 million in Credit Adjusted EBITDA, representing a 3.4% increase. The company’s casual gaming segment emerged as a primary growth driver, with June’s Journey achieving significant success by surpassing $1 billion in lifetime revenue. Conversely, the social casino segment, specifically the flagship title Slotomania, experienced market share pressure, prompting management to plan increased user acquisition spending for 2024. Direct-to-consumer platforms continued to gain traction, now accounting for 25.3% of total revenue.

The company’s strategic outlook for 2024 emphasizes reinvestment, with revenue guidance set between $2.52 billion and $2.62 billion and Credit Adjusted EBITDA projected between $730 million and $770 million. While the board has decided to pause the evaluation of broader strategic alternatives due to geopolitical uncertainty in Israel and Ukraine, the company remains focused on leveraging its $1 billion cash position to pursue growth through both organic marketing investments and inorganic acquisitions. This balanced approach aims to sustain long-term profitability while providing consistent returns to shareholders.