CURRENT REPORTS

• Profit before tax has increased by 4% to £5.1m (2008: £4.9m)


• Earnings per share increased by 9% to 3.7p (2008: 3.4p)


• Net bank debt reduced by £2.7m to £80.5m (31 December 2008: £83.2m)


• Adjusted profit before tax* of £6.9m (2008: £7.8m)

STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

• Rebranding exercise towards The New Football Pools, GameOn and Vernons largely completed


• Innovative social gaming platform bringing social networking functionality to leading fantasy football communities launched.


• Media partnerships launched with The Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail and the Metro for online social gaming platform


• Customer recruitment and retention at highest level in recent years


• Integration of Vernons Pools largely complete with operational and financial synergies continuing to exceed management’s initial forecasts


• Football pools products now accessible to the poker customer database of 888 Holdings Plc (“888”)


• Strategic partnership with 888, delivering growth after migration challenges last year – extension of e-Gaming suite of products


• Extended distribution into Licensed Betting Offices (“LBOs”) – Ladbrokes initially, and now agreement concluded with Finsoft, a technology supplier to over one thousand LBOs in the UK and overseas


• Ongoing modernisation of many aspects of the business nearing completion

* Adjusted profit before tax is profit before taxation, amortisation
of acquired intangibles, exceptional costs and non-cash finance charges.

• Gross win revenue increased by 20% to
  £71.8m (2007: £59.6m)
     
  
• Adjusted operating profit* increased by 20%
  to £22.6m (2007: £18.8m)
  
  
• Adjusted profit before tax* increased by 39%
  to £16.8m (2007: £12.1m)
  
  
• Adjusted earnings per share* of 12.0p
  (2007: 13.4p)
         
  
• Retained profit and earnings per share
  (after significant amortisation and exceptional
  costs) of £5.1m (2007: £8.1m) and 5.1p
  (2007: 12.8p) respectively
  
  
• Committed banking facilities in place until 2017
  
  
• Net bank debt (after a year of significant
  exceptional costs) reduced by £3.3m to
  £83.2m (2007: £86.5m)
  
  
• Debt to EBITDA ratio reduced in the past
  three years from 5.3 times to 3.5 times, further
  significant reductions expected given the
  cash generative nature of the business
  
  

• Successful launch of The New Football Pools
  and relaunch of the Football Pools business
  with new and enhanced products, private
  leagues and a community-based, football
  predictor website
  
  
• Since the start of the football season to the
  end of 2008, Sportech has been a net recruiter
  of customers across our football gaming products
  (including a solid start to our online customer
  recruitment), in a reversal of the trend seen
  consistently since 1994
  
  
• Vernons Pools’ (“Vernons”) physical integration
  completed ahead of schedule – operational
  and financial synergies have exceeded
  management’s initial forecasts
  
  
• Modernisation of many aspects of the business
  nearing completion which will result in a total
  upgrade and integration of the technology suite
  arising from partnerships with Scientific Games
  and Orbis
  
  
• Global marketing and distribution agreement
  signed with 888 Holdings Plc (“888”) to promote
  Sportech’s football pools and other e-Gaming
  products to the UK and worldwide customer
  base of both companies
           
  
• Distribution for a selection of football pools
  products launched across the Ladbrokes
  betting shop estate in December 2008;
  more agreements to follow