Playtech announces share buy-back

25th May 2011 14:59

With shares in Playtech having fallen by over a third over the last year, the online gaming software developer has announced that it will buy back 10% of its current outstanding ordinary shares, as the recent trading price of the shares does not "reflect their underlying value."The gruop has taken authority to make market purchases of over 24.2m ordinary shares of no par valueAs of yesterday's close (307.75p), the share price had lost 34.07% during the last 12 months when it was over the 400p mark. After Wednesday's announcement, shares had recovered slightly and stood around the 335p level."We expect that the market will recognise the true value of our business. Should the public markets continue to offer an opportunity for us to purchase shares at what the Company believes are compelling valuations, the Board must retain the ability to utilise a portion of our cash resources for the benefit of all of our long-term shareholders," said chairman Roger Withers. Meanwhile, current trading is said to be robust, with performance continuing to improve after a solid first quarter."This is a good outcome in what remains an uncertain market environment conditions, and continued delay in the introduction of new products in markets such as Italy," Withers said.---BC