DigiPlus revenues and profits exploded in FY23

DigiPlus [PLUS 10.00, up 0.2%] [link] declared a cash dividend of P0.18/share (1.8% yield) and teased that its FY23 net income of P4.1 billion, an outrageous 596% increase over its FY22 net income. PLUS said the massive increase was made possible by the “sustained growth of its digital retail segment”, which was fueled by “the introduction of new platforms” and “cost-savings efficiencies”. FY23 revenues increased 306% to P27.3 billion thanks to “higher user traffic” on its BingoPlus and ArenaPlus platforms and from contributions from “new digital offerings”. PLUS is up 24% year-to-date, and is up 283% over the past 12 months.

MB bottom-line: The stock (and company) has gone on an absolute rip since it rebranded (it used to be Leisure and Resorts World Corp.) and leaned heavily into online gaming. It used to specialize in operating junkets to physical casino locations, but it acquired a license from PAGCOR to facilitate gaming operations for e-casinos and sportsbetting, and pushed heavily into e-bingo and online slot betting. What makes PLUS particularly interesting is that it doesn’t need to spend billions to build a new casino to double its income like the other gaming companies do. It doesn’t have to site land, prep the parcel, construct the building, hire the staff, and all of that fun stuff particular to our lives in meatspace. It just makes a betting version of a boomer phone game and pushes that out for people to play at home. It could double its customers through word-of-mouth and marketing without having to spend any capex to facilitate that growth.   

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