AGTech delivered a 14% increase in revenue in the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period last year. In the first half of the year, the Group continued to actively establish and strengthen our industry leading position in the existing and potential lottery and game & entertainment areas, and demonstrate the Group’s sustainable competitiveness,” said John Sun, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AGTech.

“In the first half of 2018, the Group has won ten lottery hardware tenders, and we have nearly half of China Sports Lottery’s lottery hardware terminal market share nationwide, reaffirming our industry leading position and continued commitment in China’s lottery hardware market. The Group’s Lottery Hardware division continues to focus on research and development in order to broaden and improve its product spectrum and develop new hardware ranges. Looking forward, the Group will continue to pursue tenders to supply to the lottery hardware market as opportunities to bid for new contracts arise throughout the year.”

“Following the success of the Sports Lottery marketing campaign in the first half of 2018, the Group announced comprehensive strategic cooperation framework agreements with Guangdong and Jiangsu SLACs successively by leveraging Alibaba Group and Ant Financial Group’s vast resources, covering a wide range of lottery related initiatives including business innovation, channel expansion, smart hardware terminal, technology and data service, marketing and promotion. The Group believes this cooperation will effectively attract a new breed of customers to experience lottery, and improve the consumption pattern and experience of China Sports Lottery products as a whole. ”

“During the Six-Month Period, the Group successfully launched its dedicated lottery resources channel on mobile Taobao and mobile Alipay. Through this channel, we hope to continue growing our online presence, and maximizing the value of our business partnership with Alibaba Group and Ant Financial Group, in anticipation of the potential approval and authorization of online distribution of lottery products in the future.”

“In the game & entertainment business, the Group plans to attract local and potential mind sports players by organizing global and regional online/offline competitions and tournaments in cooperation with International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) and Federation of Card Games (FCG), then to increase the awareness and popularity of mind sports in China.”

Total revenue of the Group for the Six-Month Period amounted to approximately HK$61.7 million, representing an increase of approximately 14.0% over the corresponding period in 2017. Revenue contributions were mainly derived from lottery hardware, lottery games and systems, provision of distribution and ancillary services, games and entertainment business.

The Group’s lottery business has achieved significant growth: (1) the lottery hardware achieved an increase of approximately 43.5% in revenue compared to the corresponding period in 2017; (2) the lottery games and systems achieved an increase of approximately 40.8% in revenue compared to the corresponding period in 2017; and (3) the provision of distribution and ancillary services achieved an increase of approximately 190.1% in revenue compared to the corresponding period in 2017. Such increase was partially offset by a decrease in revenue of approximately 74.8% from games and entertainment .

The profit for the Six-Month Period was approximately HK$157.3 million (2017: loss of approximately HK$ 437.1 million). The change from loss to profit for the Six-Month Period was mainly attributable to several non-cash and non-operating items related to the Convertible Bonds and contingent consideration payables under the Score Value Transaction.

During the Six-Month Period, employee benefits expenses were approximately HK$131.5 million (2017: approximately HK$111.9 million). The increase was mainly due to the continued recruitment of staff across the Group to enhance its technical capability to cope with the business growth and expansion.