DIGIPLUS Interactive Corp. expects to post a stronger second-quarter performance as it moves to relaunch its Brazil operations and prepares for expansion into South Africa.
Outgoing President Andy Tsui told stockholders last Friday that the company was seeing stable business conditions amid challenges faced by the industry earlier this year.
“We’re achieving a stabilized result,” Tsui told reporters. “We’re also working on a lot of initiatives to improve the profit margin, so I think we should have a very decent quarter compared to the first quarter.”
DigiPlus last month reported a 33-percent drop in first-quarter net income to P2.8 billion as regulatory changes and weaker consumer sentiment weighed on its core gaming business.
In a disclosure, the company said total revenues fell 25 percent year on year to P17.2 billion while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization plunged by 42 percent to P2.6 billion.
The downturn was largely attributed to the delinking of e-wallet access from licensed online gaming platforms, which affected user activity and transaction flows, alongside softer spending due to the global fuel crisis.
DigiPlus is currently preparing to relaunch its Brazil operations within June as it enters the final stages of its launch preparations.
“We expected the launch will happen in the next few weeks, meaning within the month of June,” Tsui said.
The company had paused its Brazil operations following an initial rollout as it refined its platform and localized offerings for the market.
Meanwhile, DigiPlus is building the team that will oversee its planned South African operations, which are targeted for launch in 2027.
“We’ll first work on the Brazil project first, and then we’ll continue to work on the South Africa project in the coming year,” Tsui said.
The company secured gaming licenses in South Africa earlier this year and has said that it sees the market as a second major international growth opportunity after Brazil.
The expansion plans come as DigiPlus undergoes a leadership transition following the appointment of finance veteran Ping Chen as president, replacing Tsui after more than four years in the role.
Chen said the company intends to continue leveraging its technology infrastructure and regional expertise to support long-term growth.
“Do we want to be global? Yes, we want to be,” Chen said. “Do we want to be a market leader in a region? Yes.”
He said DigiPlus would continue expanding its product offerings while targeting markets with consumer behavior and gaming cultures similar to those in Southeast Asia.
Chairman Eusebio Tanco expressed confidence that the management transition would not affect the company’s expansion plans.
“The core management is still in depth. There’s no need to worry,” Tanco said. “It shouldn’t hurt the growth prospects.”
The company also remains optimistic about the growth potential of its sports betting business under the ArenaPlus brand.
ArenaPlus head Eric Su said sports betting remained in a “very young stage” in the Philippines and currently accounted for only about 5 to 10 percent of the country’s gaming revenue market.
In comparison, sports betting contributes roughly 30 to 40 percent of gross gaming revenue in markets such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Brazil and South Africa, he said.
“We see the potential of the market to grow probably about three to five times in the next five years,” Su said.
DigiPlus shares slipped P0.50 or 4.55 percent, to close at P10.50 each on Friday.