Codere Online Luxembourg SA (CDRO) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Hello and welcome to Codere Online first-quarter 2023 financial results. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Guillermo Lancha, Head of Investor Relations. Thank you. Please go ahead.

您好，歡迎閱讀 Codere Online 2023 年第一季度財務業績。 （操作員說明）謹此提醒，本次電話會議正在錄音。我現在想將電話轉給投資者關係主管 Guillermo Lancha。謝謝。請繼續。

Thanks, operator, and welcome everyone to Codere Online's earnings call for the first quarter of 2023. Today, you will hear from our CEO, Aviv Sher; and CFO, Oscar Iglesias. Our former CEO and Executive Vice Chairman, Moshe Edree, who continues to be involved in the business and is supporting the team on a daily basis, will be participating in the Q&A section.

感謝運營商，並歡迎大家參加 Codere Online 2023 年第一季度的財報電話會議。今天，您將聽到我們的首席執行官 Aviv Sher 的講話；首席財務官奧斯卡·伊格萊西亞斯。我們的前首席執行官兼執行副主席 Moshe Edree 將繼續參與業務並每天為團隊提供支持，他將參加問答部分。

Before turning the call over to Aviv, I'd like to remind everyone that during this call, we will be referring to a presentation we uploaded to our website earlier today, which includes non-GAAP financial metrics such as net gaming revenue or adjusted EBITDA, for which you can find reconciliations in the appendix of the presentation. Let me also remind you that our accounting information is prepared under IFRS accounting standards and that throughout this presentation, all monetary figures will be in euro unless expressed otherwise.

在將電話轉交給 Aviv 之前，我想提醒大家，在這次電話會議中，我們將參考今天早些時候上傳到我們網站的演示文稿，其中包括非 GAAP 財務指標，例如游戲淨收入或調整後 EBITDA ，您可以在演示文稿的附錄中找到其調節信息。我還要提醒您，我們的會計信息是根據 IFRS 會計標準編制的，並且在整個演示文稿中，除非另有說明，所有貨幣數字均以歐元為單位。

Finally, please note that a replay and transcript of this call will be available on our website at codereonline.com, where you can also sign up for our investor email alerts. With that, I will go ahead and pass the call on to Aviv.

最後，請注意，本次電話會議的重播和文字記錄將在我們的網站 codereonline.com 上提供，您也可以在其中註冊我們的投資者電子郵件提醒。這樣，我將把電話轉給阿維夫。

Thanks, Guillermo, and thanks to everyone for joining the call. I'm very happy to be addressing all of you today for the first time since taking over as CEO of the company. In my new role, I'm fully committed to building upon the significant progress made under Moshe's leadership and to drive sustained growth and value for our shareholders in what is now our second year as a public company.

謝謝吉列爾莫，也感謝大家加入電話會議。我很高興今天自接任公司首席執行官以來第一次向大家發表講話。在我的新職位上，我將全力以赴在 Moshe 的領導下取得重大進展，並在我們作為上市公司的第二年裡推動股東的持續增長和價值。

Jumping straight into the highlights of the first quarter of 2023 on page 7, we have delivered an impressive 55% net gaming revenue growth versus Q1 of 2022 to nearly EUR40 million. This was also sequential increase of 5% quarter on quarter, which is no small achievement considering the tough comparison with the World Cup in the previous quarter.

直接進入第 7 頁 2023 年第一季度的亮點，我們的淨遊戲收入較 2022 年第一季度增長了 55%，達到近 4000 萬歐元，令人印象深刻。這也是環比增長5%，考慮到與上一季度世界杯的艱難比較，這是一個不小的成就。

As we anticipated in our last call, a trend of increased contribution from casino continued into 2023, with casino generating 53% of our net gaming revenue this quarter. This was driven by not only progress in our cross-selling of the casino product to our sports betting customers, but also and more importantly, the strong contribution from our acquisition focus on casino-oriented players. This significant growth in net gaming revenue was driven by a 22% increase in our active customer base to nearly 124,000 together with a 27% increase in average monthly spend per customer to EUR106.

正如我們在上次電話會議中所預期的那樣，賭場貢獻增加的趨勢持續到 2023 年，本季度賭場占我們博彩淨收入的 53%。這不僅是因為我們向體育博彩客戶交叉銷售賭場產品的進展，更重要的是，我們專注於賭場玩家的收購所做出的巨大貢獻。淨遊戲收入的顯著增長是由於我們的活躍客戶群增加了 22% 至近 124,000 人，以及每位客戶的平均每月支出增加了 27% 至 106 歐元。

Mexico drove most of the increase in active customers, with a 48% more than last year. And together with Spain, we achieved the higher spend per customer. Our customer acquisition numbers remained relatively flat compared to last year, with 80,000 first-time depositors in the quarter.

墨西哥是活躍客戶增長的主要推動者，比去年增加了 48%。我們與西班牙一起實現了每位客戶的更高支出。與去年相比，我們的客戶獲取數量相對持平，本季度有 80,000 名首次存款人。

The sequential decline in acquisition was primarily driven by the lower marketing spend in the quarter as we took our foot off the pedal a bit, following the heavy investments made prior and during the World Cup. As a result and giving the -- given the still strong number of customers acquired, our blended CPA across all markets fell by 21% versus Q1 last year to EUR161.

收購量的環比下降主要是由於本季度營銷支出的減少，因為我們在世界杯之前和期間進行了大量投資後稍微放鬆了腳步。因此，考慮到所獲得的客戶數量仍然強勁，我們所有市場的混合 CPA 比去年第一季度下降了 21%，至 161 歐元。

In terms of recent developments, we were one of five operators awarded a license to operate in the Province of Mendoza in Argentina, where we were working to launch operation in the back half of this year, though our priority in Argentina continues to be obtaining a license in the Province of Buenos Aires. In regards to the Province of Córdoba where we were one of eight groups to be pre-awarded a license, we took a decision to withdraw from the tender process, given the lack of viable tax structure and given the significant upfront licensing fee made operating in that region not feasible from an economic standpoint.

就最近的發展而言，我們是獲得在阿根廷門多薩省運營許可證的五家運營商之一，我們正努力於今年下半年在那裡開展業務，儘管我們在阿根廷的首要任務仍然是獲得許可布宜諾斯艾利斯省的許可證。至於科爾多瓦省，我們是獲得預先授予許可證的八個集團之一，考慮到缺乏可行的稅收結構以及在該省運營的預付許可費，我們決定退出招標過程。從經濟角度來看，該地區不可行。

Finally, we are happy to announce today the appointment of Debbie Guivisdalsky as COO, succeeding me in my former role. Debbie brings a wealth experience in fraud, payments, VIP, and CRM areas both at Codere Online and with other industry leaders such as Ladbrokes. I am sure she will continue to play meaningful role in the future success of this company, and we all wish her the best of luck.

最後，我們今天很高興地宣布任命黛比·吉維斯達爾斯基 (Debbie Guivisdalsky) 為首席運營官，接替我之前的職位。 Debbie 為 Codere Online 以及 Ladbrokes 等其他行業領導者帶來了欺詐、支付、VIP 和 CRM 領域的豐富經驗。我相信她將繼續在公司未來的成功中發揮有意義的作用，我們都祝她好運。

With that, I will return it over to Oscar to cover the financial highlights of the quarter.

至此，我將把它交還給奧斯卡，以介紹本季度的財務亮點。

Thanks, Aviv. Turning to page 9, consolidated net gaming revenue grew 55% to nearly EUR40 million in the first quarter, driven primarily by our Mexican business, which grew 75% to nearly EUR18 million, together with a 40% growth in Spain to over EUR18 million. Colombia also contributed to this increase with over EUR2 million of net gaming revenue in the quarter, 55% higher than last year. Engagement from both existing and new customers following the World Cup and the relative strength of our casino business played a significant role in this increase in the first quarter.

謝謝，阿維夫。翻到第 9 頁，第一季度綜合博彩淨收入增長 55% 至近 4000 萬歐元，這主要是由我們的墨西哥業務推動的，墨西哥業務增長 75% 至近 1800 萬歐元，西班牙業務增長 40% 至超過 1800 萬歐元。哥倫比亞也為這一增長做出了貢獻，本季度遊戲淨收入超過 200 萬歐元，比去年增長 55%。世界杯后現有客戶和新客戶的參與以及我們賭場業務的相對實力在第一季度的增長中發揮了重要作用。

Adjusted EBITDA, meanwhile, was negative EUR2.3 million in the first quarter, including a record EUR6.1 million positive contribution from Spain. This negative EUR2.3 million represents a significant improvement versus the negative EUR13.2 million in the prior year quarter and reflects the pivot we have made to sustainable growth and profitability as discussed in our prior call.

與此同時，第一季度調整後 EBITDA 為負 230 萬歐元，其中包括西班牙創紀錄的 610 萬歐元正貢獻。與去年同期的負值 1,320 萬歐元相比，這一負值 230 萬歐元有了顯著改善，並反映了我們在之前的電話會議中討論的可持續增長和盈利能力的重點。

And while our focus for this year will continue to be finding a balance between the two, we continue to see significant opportunities to invest and grow in both Spain and Mexico and expect over time to establish ourselves as a leading and profitable operator in Argentina. Looking now at our P&L on page 10, the EUR11 million improvement in adjusted EBITDA in the quarter was not only driven by the significant net gaming revenue growth and consequent flow through to EBITDA, but also by the lower investments in marketing that Aviv mentioned earlier.

雖然我們今年的重點將繼續在兩者之間尋找平衡，但我們仍然看到在西班牙和墨西哥投資和發展的重大機會，並期望隨著時間的推移，將自己打造成阿根廷領先且盈利的運營商。現在看看第 10 頁的損益表，本季度調整後 EBITDA 改善 1100 萬歐元，不僅是由於遊戲淨收入的顯著增長和隨之而來的 EBITDA 流入，而且還因為 Aviv 之前提到的營銷投資減少。

Turning to the Spanish operating and financial metrics, net gaming revenue in the first quarter increased 40% versus the prior year quarter, despite a flat customer base due to the significant increase in spend per active in the quarter. This improvement was driven by both growth in our casino business where spend per active is typically higher than sports betting, but also due to a higher-than-normal sports betting margin in the month of March.

談到西班牙的運營和財務指標，儘管由於本季度每位活躍用戶支出大幅增加而導致客戶群持平，但第一季度的淨遊戲收入比去年同期增長了 40%。這一改善是由我們賭場業務的增長推動的，其中每個活躍的支出通常高於體育博彩，但也由於 3 月份的體育博彩利潤率高於正常水平。

In Mexico, net gaming revenue was nearly EUR18 million in the quarter, an increase of 75% year on year and 8% sequentially. This strong performance was driven by both a 48% increase in the number of active customers together with a higher spend per customer, again, driven by the relative strength on the casino side of our business on the back of an improved product offering, promotional strategy, and strong brand recognition in the market.

在墨西哥，本季度博彩淨收入接近 1800 萬歐元，同比增長 75%，環比增長 8%。這一強勁業績的推動因素是活躍客戶數量增加 48%，以及每位客戶的支出增加，這也是由於我們賭場業務在改進產品供應和促銷策略的支持下的相對實力所推動的，以及市場上強大的品牌認知度。

Moving to Colombia, net gaming revenue increased 55% in the first quarter, slightly above the EUR2 million mark. As we have outlined in prior calls, our business in Colombia is subscale. And given the substantial opportunities we are seeing in other core markets, we have decided to reduce marketing spend in this market in an effort to reduce losses. As a result, our portfolio of active customers in the quarter grew only 5% versus the prior year quarter.

轉向哥倫比亞，第一季度遊戲淨收入增長 55%，略高於 200 萬歐元大關。正如我們在之前的電話中概述的那樣，我們在哥倫比亞的業務規模較小。鑑於我們在其他核心市場看到的大量機會，我們決定減少該市場的營銷支出，以減少損失。因此，本季度我們的活躍客戶組合僅比去年同期增長 5%。

But despite the lower level of investment made in Colombia in the first quarter, we have delivered significant growth in net gaming revenue driven by higher spend per customer. In short, going forward, our focus will continue to be on improving the quality of our customer acquisitions and, as result, our portfolio of active customers as opposed to growth for growth's sake.

儘管第一季度哥倫比亞的投資水平較低，但由於每位客戶的支出增加，我們的淨遊戲收入實現了顯著增長。簡而言之，展望未來，我們的重點將繼續放在提高客戶獲取的質量上，從而提高我們的活躍客戶組合，而不是為了增長而增長。

Turning to the balance sheet, as of March 31, we had over EUR49 million of total cash on the balance sheet, of which approximately EUR45 million was available and utilized over the course of the first quarter approximately EUR4 million. In terms of our net working capital position, we ended the quarter with negative EUR23 million or around 17% on LTM net gaming revenue. This figure included about EUR2 million of extended accounts payables for services provided by Codere Group, which were subsequently paid in the month of April.

談到資產負債表，截至 3 月 31 日，我們資產負債表上的現金總額超過 4900 萬歐元，其中約 4500 萬歐元可供使用，第一季度使用了約 400 萬歐元。就我們的淨營運資本狀況而言，本季度末我們的淨營運資本狀況為負 2300 萬歐元，約佔 LTM 淨博彩收入的 17%。這一數字包括 Codere Group 提供的服務的約 200 萬歐元的延期應付賬款，該款項隨後於 4 月份支付。

On page 16, you have our cash flow statement for the quarter together with further details regarding the variation in net working capital. The weakening of the US dollar throughout the first quarter resulted in a small negative FX impact, but the strong operating results in the quarter resulted in a better-ending cash position than we originally expected.

在第 16 頁，您可以看到本季度的現金流量表以及有關淨營運資本變化的更多詳細信息。第一季度美元的疲軟對外匯造成了小幅負面影響，但該季度強勁的經營業績導致現金狀況好於我們最初的預期。

Turning to our 2023 outlook on page 17 (sic, "page 18"), we are maintaining the net gaming revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance we provided in our Q4 earnings call. Given the strong performance in the first quarter, we expect to be in the upper part of the ranges provided but would like to have more visibility over the second quarter before deciding if a revision to this outlook is warranted.

轉向第 17 頁（原文為“第 18 頁”）的 2023 年展望，我們維持在第四季度財報電話會議中提供的淨博彩收入和調整後 EBITDA 指導。鑑於第一季度的強勁表現，我們預計將處於所提供範圍的上部，但希望在決定是否有必要修改這一前景之前對第二季度有更多的了解。

As we look out beyond 2023, we are well on track to deliver positive EBITDA and cash flow for the full year in 2024. And our Q1 performance is yet another step in that direction.

展望 2023 年以後，我們有望在 2024 年全年實現正的 EBITDA 和現金流。我們第一季度的業績是朝著這個方向又邁出了一步。

That's all from my end. I will now hand it back over to Aviv for closing remarks.

這就是我的全部。我現在將其交還給阿維夫進行閉幕致辭。

Thanks, Oscar. Before we go into the Q&A, I would just like to thank the investors and the analysts that have joined us on this call and who have otherwise continued to support us throughout what has been turbulent times in the market. I also want to reiterate that this management team is not only committed to delivering sustainable growth, but also very excited about what we believe is the significant opportunity to create value for our shareholders.

謝謝，奧斯卡。在我們進行問答之前，我只想感謝參加本次電話會議的投資者和分析師，以及他們在市場動盪時期繼續支持我們的人士。我還想重申，這個管理團隊不僅致力於實現可持續增長，而且對我們認為為股東創造價值的重大機會感到非常興奮。

With that said, I will turn it back to the operator to open up the call to Q&A.

話雖如此，我會將其轉回給接線員以打開問答電話。

(Operator Instructions) Jeff Stantial; Stifel.

（操作員說明）Jeff Stantial；斯蒂菲爾。

Hi, there. This is Jackson Gibb, on for Jeff. So you reiterated full-year EBITDA guidance of $20 million to $30 million of losses, so moving to the higher end of the range. Contrasting that to the first-quarter loss of 2.3 million seems to suggest meaningful reacceleration in marketing investments. Could you just walk us through this thought process there and help us think through marketing spend through the remainder of the year?

你好呀。我是傑克遜·吉布，替補傑夫。因此，您重申了全年 EBITDA 指導為 2000 萬至 3000 萬美元的損失，因此轉向了該範圍的較高端。與第一季度 230 萬的虧損形成鮮明對比，似乎表明營銷投資明顯加速。您能否引導我們完成這個思考過程，並幫助我們思考今年剩餘時間的營銷支出？

Yeah. Hi, Jackson. I think as it relates to -- we're not providing guidance in terms of our overall marketing spend for the year other than what we've guided in our Q4 call in terms of taking our foot off the pedal a little bit and prioritizing and -- or balancing profitability with growth.

是的。嗨，傑克遜。我認為，與此相關的是，除了我們在第四季度電話會議中所指導的、稍微放鬆一下踏板並優先考慮和——或者平衡盈利能力與增長。

But I think that we are cautious going into the second quarter until we have a few more months of visibility over the business and how it's trading, especially, into a few of the slower sports summer months. We want to be a little bit more cautious in terms of revising guidance.

但我認為，我們對進入第二季度持謹慎態度，直到我們對業務及其交易情況有更多幾個月的了解，特別是在夏季體育運動放緩的幾個月份中。我們希望在修改指導意見方面更加謹慎。

But the first quarter obviously came in strong. April figures are continuing -- a continuation of that trend. So we're optimistic that this trend will continue throughout the year, that the higher yield that we're getting from customers overall because of some of the mix change we've made and some of the focus we've made and efforts on acquisition and CRM, on a relative basis, more focused on the casino side of the business. We're expecting that to continue, but we want to be a little bit more cautious before we revise guidance.

但第一季度顯然表現強勁。四月份的數據仍在繼續——這一趨勢的延續。因此，我們樂觀地認為，這一趨勢將在全年持續下去，由於我們所做的一些組合變化以及我們在收購方面所做的一些關注和努力，我們從總體客戶那裡獲得了更高的收益而CRM相對而言更側重於賭場方面的業務。我們預計這種情況會持續下去，但在修改指導意見之前我們希望更加謹慎。

Got it. That makes sense. And then just to follow up with another question on marketing spend. Revenues in Spain and Mexico were up to 3% and 8% quarter on quarter, respectively, despite aggregate marketing spend down close to 40%, and that's pretty impressive. Can you just talk a bit more on customer retention efforts post the World Cup and how sticky you're seeing customers prove to be as you pull back a little bit on that marketing reinvestment?

知道了。這就說得通了。然後跟進另一個有關營銷支出的問題。儘管營銷總支出下降了近 40%，但西班牙和墨西哥的收入環比分別增長了 3% 和 8%，這相當令人印象深刻。您能否多談談世界杯后的客戶保留工作，以及當您稍微減少營銷再投資時，您看到客戶的粘性有多大？

Aviv, do you want to jump in on this one? Aviv?

阿維夫，你想參與其中嗎？阿維夫？

Yes. So basically, we rode the wave after the World Cup and tried to retain the customers -- the new customers that came during the World Cup and explore our product and our offering. And I think lowering a little bit the marketing investment facing new customers didn't affect the effort that we've continued to do during the first quarter on our existing database and the new database acquired during the World Cup.

是的。所以基本上，我們在世界杯后順勢而為，並試圖留住客戶——世界杯期間到來的新客戶，並探索我們的產品和產品。我認為稍微降低面向新客戶的營銷投資並不會影響我們在第一季度繼續對現有數據庫和世界杯期間獲得的新數據庫所做的努力。

And I think those efforts actually showed good results. We introduced several mechanics that, I think, at least in the casino made a lot of sense, and our players really liked it. So I think it's very impressive actually what we did and able to grow the revenue even after the World Cup. So it means that the customers that we acquired during the year, not just the World Cup, are good customers with the value that we expected and even more.

我認為這些努力實際上取得了良好的成果。我們引入了幾種機制，我認為至少在賭場中很有意義，而且我們的玩家非常喜歡它。所以我認為我們所做的事情非常令人印象深刻，即使在世界杯之後我們仍然能夠增加收入。所以這意味著我們這一年獲得的客戶，不僅僅是世界杯，都是好客戶，具有我們期望的價值，甚至更多。

That's really helpful. And then if I could just switch gears a little bit. There's been some news flow suggesting momentum in Brazil to get online sports betting regulated.

這真的很有幫助。然後如果我能稍微改變一下的話。有消息稱巴西有動力對在線體育博彩進行監管。

Given how you've been executing on the growth opportunities in your core markets, do you expect to be in Brazil day one when online sports betting is legalized? And then, Oscar, how much capital would you envision needing to ramp operations there that did come to pass (technical difficulty)?

考慮到您在核心市場中抓住增長機會的方式，您是否期望在巴西在線體育博彩合法化的第一天實現這一目標？然後，奧斯卡，您認為需要多少資金來擴大運營（技術難度）？

Hi, Jack. How are you? It's Moshe here. Oscar, I will get it. Yeah, well, obviously, we are following the regulation in Brazil like any other operators and especially, those operating in Latin America. And it's like an obvious continuity for the core market that we have, which is, at the moment, it's Spain, Mexico, Argentina, and Panama and Colombia.

嗨，傑克。你好嗎？這是摩西。奧斯卡，我會得到它。是的，顯然，我們像其他運營商一樣遵守巴西的法規，特別是在拉丁美洲運營的運營商。這就像我們擁有的核心市場的明顯連續性，目前是西班牙、墨西哥、阿根廷、巴拿馬和哥倫比亞。

But Brazil, by itself, as a size, it's like a separate continent and more than that. Since it's not the same language and it's like a new factory and a new operation. So in one hand, we have the setup in Latin America that will allow us later on to open a proxy in Brazil.

但巴西本身，就其面積而言，就像一個獨立的大陸，而且還不止於此。因為它不是同一種語言，而且它就像一個新工廠和一個新操作。因此，一方面，我們在拉丁美洲有設置，這將使我們以後能夠在巴西開設代理。

But in terms of the size of the country and in terms of the language and in terms of the setup and the efforts to build the brand, since Codere is not a well-known brand in Brazil like -- unlike Mexico and Colombia, for instance, that we have [the retail] -- to start from scratch which requires like tens of millions, which at the moment, it's not in our priority, not for the first stage. So I don't see any real [momentum] on our side with Codere Online to Brazil in 2023 and maybe even not in the first half of 2024.

但就國家面積、語言、品牌設置和打造努力而言，Codere 在巴西並不是一個知名品牌，例如與墨西哥和哥倫比亞不同，我們有[零售]——從頭開始，這需要數千萬美元，目前這不是我們的首要任務，不是第一階段。因此，我認為 2023 年 Codere Online 到巴西的項目沒有任何真正的[動力]，甚至可能在 2024 年上半年也沒有。

Understood. And then if I could squeeze one more in. It looks like Mexico continues to be the largest growth driver for you, guys. Just curious how you've seen the competitive landscape evolve there maybe over the past three to six months?

明白了。然後我是否可以再擠進去一個。看來墨西哥仍然是你們最大的增長動力，伙計們。只是好奇您在過去三到六個月內看到那裡的競爭格局如何演變？

In terms of competition, our biggest competitor is still ruling the market with heavy investment everywhere. And we are trying to compete as hard as we can and gain position. I think in terms of market share, we were able to increase the market share year on year and maybe quarter on quarter even from the fourth quarter to the third quarter.

從競爭上看，我們最大的競爭對手仍然在各地大力投入，統治著市場。我們正在盡我們所能地努力競爭並獲得地位。我認為就市場份額而言，我們能夠同比甚至季度環比甚至從第四季度到第三季度增加市場份額。

But other than that, the competitor landscape is very harsh. We keep hearing of new competitors coming in; some of them even pulling out after one year. It's complicated to operate over there. And I think our retail business over there gives us a good advantage over new competitors coming in.

但除此之外，競爭對手的處境也非常嚴峻。我們不斷聽到新的競爭對手加入；他們中的一些人甚至在一年後退出。那邊操作起來很複雜。我認為我們在那裡的零售業務為我們提供了比新競爭對手更好的優勢。

The infrastructure is very solid and helpful, and our brand is growing strongly. We already see in terms of the research that we are conducting that our brand recognition there went up maybe 300% or 400% year on year. So we are able to get our foot in there and to be recognized by more and more people in the [street].

基礎設施非常堅實且有用，我們的品牌正在強勁增長。根據我們正在進行的研究，我們已經發現我們的品牌認知度同比上升了 300% 或 400%。因此，我們能夠涉足其中，並得到[街道]上越來越多的人的認可。

Yeah, Jackson, I would just add that it's important to note that we're only -- what is it -- 1.5 years outside of our IPO and our capital raise. And we really started ramping that heavier level of investment in the first quarter of 2022 in Mexico.

是的，傑克遜，我想補充一點，重要的是要注意，我們距離 IPO 和融資只有 1.5 年了。我們確實在 2022 年第一季度開始加大對墨西哥的投資力度。

So we're really only a year in in terms of that investment, that brand building that obviously is the key and drives the overall acquisition retention machinery. So we're happy, and what we're starting to see here is momentum. It's being reflected in the numbers. And obviously, we don't want to lose that momentum, and we want to keep that going throughout this year.

因此，就投資而言，我們實際上只花了一年的時間，品牌建設顯然是關鍵並推動整體收購保留機制。所以我們很高興，我們開始看到的是勢頭。這反映在數字中。顯然，我們不想失去這種勢頭，我們希望在今年保持這種勢頭。

Got it. Thanks for all the color, and congratulations on an excellent quarter.

知道了。感謝所有的色彩，並祝賀這個季度的出色表現。

Great. Thanks, Jeff.

偉大的。謝謝，傑夫。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Pat McCann, Noble Capital Markets.

帕特·麥肯，高貴資本市場。

Hey, guys. Congrats on the quarter. I'll say first, I got disconnected in the middle of the call, so, hopefully, none of these questions are too, too redundant with what some of the things you've already said.

大家好。恭喜本季度。我首先要說的是，我在通話過程中突然斷線，所以希望這些問題與您已經說過的一些內容相比都不是太多餘。

But my first question had to do with Spain, with the cash flow margins really being pretty meaningful in this quarter. I guess, I'm wondering to what extent that could be a result of maybe the shakeout of some of the less-established players in the -- in Spain given the regulatory environment. And just, generally, where you see Spain going from here is -- is that trend of improving cash flow there, is there more room for that to continue going forward?

但我的第一個問題與西班牙有關，本季度的現金流利潤率確實非常有意義。我想，考慮到監管環境，我想知道這在多大程度上可能是西班牙一些不太成熟的參與者被淘汰的結果。總的來說，你認為西班牙未來的發展方向是——那裡的現金流有改善的趨勢嗎？未來還有更多的空間嗎？

Yeah. If I could just start with just on the -- in terms of the -- Aviv, let me just start with the -- I'll just mention on the unit economics front in Spain as -- Pat, as you may know, it's the market where we have the lowest gaming tax rate. So we benefit from a special tax subsidy for being domiciled in one of the two autonomous regions in North Africa and Melilla.

是的。如果我可以從——就阿維夫而言，讓我從——我會在西班牙的單位經濟學方面提到——帕特，你可能知道，這是我們的博彩稅率最低的市場。因此，我們因居住在北非兩個自治區之一和梅利利亞而受益於特別稅收補貼。

So it's the one where we have the most operating leverage. And obviously, every incremental euro we have of higher net gaming revenue, a more significant part of that is flowing through to EBITDA and especially, some of the cost structure, especially on the platform and tech side. There's a mix of fixed and variable, but there's a significant portion of fixed expense there that allows the flow through to be substantial.

因此，這是我們擁有最大運營槓桿的領域。顯然，我們每增加一歐元，淨遊戲收入就會增加，其中更重要的一部分會流向 EBITDA，特別是一些成本結構，尤其是在平台和技術方面。有固定費用和可變費用的混合，但其中很大一部分固定費用使得資金流動量很大。

So obviously, that's a focus for us. It's a tough market, as you know, given the advertising restrictions. But increasingly and even more so on a go-forward basis, the regulatory environment is just getting more stringent. But I think that favors incumbents that are -- that have the teams and the systems and the processes in place to manage through that complexity, which, as you point out, becomes a barrier to entry for newcomers and also really gets existing smaller players in the market thinking twice about their commitment to the market.

顯然，這是我們關注的焦點。如您所知，鑑於廣告限制，這是一個艱難的市場。但隨著未來的發展，監管環境變得越來越嚴格。但我認為，這有利於現有的企業，它們擁有適當的團隊、系統和流程來管理這種複雜性，正如您所指出的，這成為新來者進入的障礙，也真正讓現有的較小參與者參與進來。市場對他們對市場的承諾三思而後行。

Thanks. And then just to piggyback off of the previous question about the competitive landscape in Mexico. I think you mentioned on the last call that Caliente is still spending very heavily, despite maybe the more restricted capital environment we're in, but that some of the other brands are experiencing more challenges to growth.

謝謝。然後再藉用之前有關墨西哥競爭格局的問題。我想你在上次電話會議上提到，儘管我們所處的資本環境可能更加受限，但 Caliente 的支出仍然非常大，但其他一些品牌正在經歷更多的增長挑戰。

Could you just provide any update on that as far as -- if you're seeing maybe other brands outside of Caliente having -- continue to have trouble where the competitive landscape is getting a little more favorable for you?

您能否提供任何最新情況——如果您看到 Caliente 以外的其他品牌可能在競爭格局對您有利的情況下繼續遇到麻煩？

Well, Caliente is still investing heavily, heavily, and we see it everywhere. We are trying to invest as well.

嗯，Caliente 仍在大力投資，我們隨處可見。我們也在嘗試投資。

In terms of new competitors, Rush Street came in. They started advertising, and I think they pulled out a little bit. And we don't see any other significant competitors, except Bet365 that continue to push through their partnership with (inaudible).

就新的競爭對手而言，Rush Street 進來了。他們開始做廣告，我認為他們退出了一點。除了 Bet365 之外，我們沒有看到任何其他重要的競爭對手繼續推動與（聽不清）的合作。

So in terms of competitive landscape, it didn't change much. But we are aware that other competitors are at least announcing that they are coming into the market, whether it's (inaudible). But I know that they released a press release on that and started advertising on TV.

所以從競爭格局來看，沒有太大變化。但我們知道其他競爭對手至少宣布他們正在進入該市場，無論是否（聽不清）。但我知道他們就此發布了新聞稿並開始在電視上做廣告。

We still believe that the country [of itself] -- to operate is a complicated one, and it takes time to understand how to operate there. And through our retail, I think we still are gaining the competitive advantage on any newcomer that tries to advertise and go slowly on the online strategy.

我們仍然認為，這個國家（本身）的運作是一個複雜的國家，需要時間來了解如何在那裡運作。通過我們的零售，我認為我們仍然在任何試圖做廣告並緩慢實施在線策略的新來者身上獲得競爭優勢。

I think through the omnichannel, we still have something else that the others don't have. And we are getting our brand out there. And we are heavily invested there in marketplace in Mexico.

我認為通過全渠道，我們仍然擁有其他人沒有的東西。我們正在推廣我們的品牌。我們在墨西哥市場進行了大量投資。

Great, thanks. I'll let others ask questions.

十分感謝。我會讓其他人提問。

We have no further questions over the phone. I would like to turn a call back over to Guillermo for any web questions.

我們在電話中沒有進一步的問題。如果有任何網絡問題，我想將電話轉回吉列爾莫。

Thanks. So we have a couple questions coming in through the webcast. The first one is about the licenses in Mendoza. We were awarded one of the five. And the question is, who was awarded the other four?

謝謝。我們通過網絡廣播提出了幾個問題。第一個是關於門多薩的許可證。我們被授予五人之一。那麼問題來了，另外四個人是誰獲得的呢？

I mean, I can answer this one. It was mostly local operators, with a few exceptions of us and Rush Street. And the rest was just the local operators.

我的意思是，我可以回答這個問題。大部分是當地運營商，除了我們和 Rush Street 之外。剩下的只是當地的運營商。

The other question is in terms of Colombia. If Colombia is non-core due to scale, what are your midterm plans for the country?

另一個問題是關於哥倫比亞的。如果哥倫比亞由於規模而成為非核心，那麼您對該國的中期計劃是什麼？

Yeah, it's a good question. I think that's -- we're working through the discussions that we're having internally in terms of -- I think we had clear what we wanted to do near term. And now, there's discussions taking place medium term. What's our approach? What can we change in terms of what we're doing there to establish ourselves as leaders in a market that is a sizable market within the context of Latin America?

是的，這是一個好問題。我認為，我們正在內部進行討論，我認為我們已經明確了近期想要做什麼。現在，正在進行中期討論。我們的方法是什麼？為了在拉丁美洲這個規模相當大的市場中確立自己的領導者地位，我們可以改變什麼？

So we don't have an answer today for this call. It's one we're working through. We have -- what we do have clear is that -- what we want to be doing in Spain, Mexico and that we have -- increasingly focused and continue to be focused on Argentina and all the preparations there. We continue to be focused on stepping into a license in the Province of Buenos Aires. And we have -- when we have something to announce on that, we'll announce it.

所以我們今天沒有對此電話的答复。這是我們正在解決的一個問題。我們確實清楚的是，我們想要在西班牙、墨西哥做的事情，而且我們已經越來越關注並將繼續關注阿根廷以及那裡的所有準備工作。我們繼續致力於在布宜諾斯艾利斯省獲得許可證。當我們有什麼要宣布的事情時，我們會宣布。

But right now, we're still working through options in regards to Colombia. But I think the important point here is that I think even in the quarter was a small positive adjusted EBITDA. And that's the key; just cutting the losses until we have a definitive solution in terms of what we want to do in the market.

但目前，我們仍在研究有關哥倫比亞的方案。但我認為這裡重要的一點是，我認為即使在本季度，調整後的 EBITDA 也有小幅正值。這就是關鍵；只是減少損失，直到我們針對我們想要在市場上做什麼找到明確的解決方案。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Okay. We have no more questions on the webcast. So unless there is anybody else wanting to ask a question through the phone, maybe we can wait a couple seconds. And if not, we can leave it here.

好的。我們在網絡廣播中沒有更多問題。因此，除非有人想通過電話提問，否則也許我們可以等幾秒鐘。如果沒有，我們可以把它留在這裡。

(Operator Instructions) I'm showing no further questions over the phone lines.

（操作員說明）我不會通過電話線提出任何其他問題。

Okay. Okay, thanks. So thank you, everyone, for joining us today. If you want to follow up on any of the subjects we discussed, you know where to reach us. And if not, we will talk again in the back half of August with our Q2 earnings. Thank you, everyone.

好的。好的謝謝。謝謝大家今天加入我們。如果您想跟進我們討論的任何主題，您知道在哪里聯系我們。如果沒有，我們將在八月下半月再次討論我們的第二季度收益。謝謝大家。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。