This is a chance we simply can’t ignore. We’re looking at a company with a market cap of around €2.5 billion, while one of its divisions is about to be sold for a stunning €2.3 billion in cash. That means investors are set to receive a substantial portion of their investment back through a special dividend. And the best part? The company’s profitable growth engine – its B2B division – remains entirely under Playtech’s control. What’s left is a healthy, cash-rich tech company with a strong foothold in regulated gambling markets and plenty of room for further growth. Figure 1. Playtech share price performance over the past five years. Source: Google. Founding Playtech was founded in 1999 in Estonia by Israeli entrepreneur Teddy Sagi. Together with a team of software developers, multimedia experts, and professionals from the casino industry, he developed a comprehensive software platform for online gambling. From the outset, the company focused on B2B services, providing technology to online casinos, poker rooms, bingo sites, and sports betting platforms. Although Playtech was established in Estonia, it had an international outlook from the beginning and quickly expanded throughout Europe. The decision to go public in the UK was strategic: London offered an attractive platform for high-growth tech companies, including international ones. In 2006, Playtech went public, raising approximately £312 million with a valuation of around £550 million. The proceeds were used to fund international expansion, acquisitions, and continued product development. In 2007, Mor Weizer was appointed CEO—a role he continues to hold to this day. Under his leadership, Playtech has grown into one of the world’s leading gambling software providers. Business Activities Today, Playtech is a major global technology supplier to the gambling industry, offering a wide range of products and services. The company provides software solutions for both online and land-based casinos, sports betting, poker, bingo, lotteries, and live casino games. A key component of its offering is the IMS platform (Information Management Solution), which allows clients to manage all player data, payments, marketing, and game content from a single system. Playtech also operates dedicated live casino studios and develops its own slot machines and table games. Sports betting technology is offered through its subsidiary, Playtech BGT Sports. In addition to its B2B services, Playtech also operates B2C activities. Through its subsidiary Snaitech, the company offers gambling services directly to consumers in Italy, both online and in physical outlets. Sale of Snaitech In September 2024, Playtech announced the sale of its entire stake in Snaitech to Flutter Entertainment for €2.3 billion in cash. Snaitech is Playtech’s B2C arm, active in Italy in both online gambling and retail sports betting. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025. The sale aligns with Playtech’s strategy to fully focus on its fast-growing and highly profitable B2B operations. By divesting Snaitech—which is more capital-intensive and less scalable—the company sharpens its focus on technology and platform services for regulated gambling markets worldwide. Caliplay Agreement Also in September 2024, Playtech announced a new strategic agreement with Caliplay, its joint venture with Caliente in Mexico. The collaboration is being restructured, giving Playtech a 30.8% stake in a new U.S.-based holding company called Cali Interactive, which will focus on the rapidly growing regulated gambling market in the United States. The agreement ends a years-long legal dispute over contract terms and outstanding payments. For Playtech, the deal means direct revenues from Caliplay service fees will cease, but it gains the prospect of dividend income from Cali Interactive and a strategic position to participate in U.S. market growth. 2024 Results On March 27 (pre-market), Playtech reported its full-year 2024 results. The B2C division—mainly consisting of Snaitech—saw only 2% revenue growth. Margins were around 24.5%, lower than in B2B, and future growth is limited due to market saturation and increased regulation. The B2C model is also capital-intensive, requiring investment in retail outlets, marketing, and absorbing the risk of sports results. While Snaitech remains profitable, it offers limited scalability and few international expansion opportunities. In contrast, the B2B division performed strongly. In 2024, B2B revenue rose by 10%, and EBITDA grew by 22%, with the margin increasing to 29.4%. Growth was driven primarily by North and South America, including a doubling of revenue in the U.S. Client concentration also improved: the top five customers accounted for 42% of revenue in 2024, down from 51% a year earlier—making the revenue base more stable and less reliant on a handful of large clients. Looking ahead, management expects adjusted EBITDA of €250 to €300 million from 2025 onwards, with annual free cash flow of €70 to €100 million. These figures reflect only the remaining B2B operations, as Snaitech is being sold and Caliplay is now a minority holding. Growth in Online Casinos Both Europe and the United States are experiencing strong growth in the online gambling market, creating attractive opportunities for Playtech. According to a recent report by the EGBA and H2 Gambling Capital, Europe’s gambling market reached a gross gaming revenue of €123.4 billion in 2024, up 5% from 2023. Online gambling was the main driver, increasing by roughly 12% to €47.9 billion. Online now represents 39% of the total gambling revenue in Europe. This growth has been fueled in part by the legalization and regulation of online gambling in countries such as Germany and the Netherlands, where online casinos are gaining popularity and taking market share from land-based venues. The U.S. online gambling market also continues to expand rapidly, according to the State of the States 2024 report by the American Gaming Association. In 2023, the U.S. gambling market posted record revenue of $66.6 billion, a 10% year-on-year increase. While traditional casinos still account for the largest share—around $49.4 billion—it is the new formats like online sports betting and online casinos that are growing fastest. Online casino games generated $6.17 billion in revenue, a 28% increase from the previous year, driven by continued legalization and regulation at the state level. Strategy Figure 2. Playtech’s global B2B strategy.

Last year, SharesUnderTen scored big with this stock. We issued a Buy recommendation when the price was between €5 and €6. The stock rallied almost immediately, hitting our price target of €13 before the year was out. We exited a bit earlier, but investors who held on locked in gains of over 135% in just six months. Since then, the price has pulled back to below €8. But despite the drop, the recently released annual results were anything but disappointing. While revenue came in slightly below expectations, profitability beat estimates. More importantly, management shared a positive outlook for 2025. Cautiously optimistic in a choppy market, we’re adding 150 shares back into our SharesUnderTen portfolio. Not a bold bet—just a smart, calculated move with solid upside potential. HelloFresh share price performance over the past twelve months. Company Profile Founded in 2011, HelloFresh is one of the standout success stories to emerge from startup incubator Rocket Internet. The company went public in 2017 at €10.25 per share. Rocket Internet gradually reduced its stake after the IPO and fully exited in 2019, selling its remaining shares at around €8 each. In hindsight, not the best timing—since the stock went on a massive rally, peaking near €100 in 2021. Since then, however, the share price has dropped sharply as revenue growth has stalled (see Table 1). That’s not entirely surprising: with an estimated 50% market share, HelloFresh is running up against the natural limits of its core business. That’s not necessarily a bad thing—as long as profitability can be improved. And that’s exactly where management is now focused, launching several cost-cutting initiatives to boost margins. HelloFresh operates two divisions: Meal Kits and Ready-to-Eat. The Meal Kits division includes the original business: the well-known boxes with fresh ingredients that customers cook themselves. The Ready-to-Eat division is a newer and rapidly growing segment: pre-prepared meal solutions that require no cooking. Ready-to-Eat is currently growing at a rapid pace and already accounts for more than a quarter of total revenue. The expectation now is that the decline in the Meal Kits segment will stabilize, while the Ready-to-Eat segment continues to expand. In short: HelloFresh still has plenty of room for growth—just from a different direction than before.   Table 1: Results over the past 4 years. *Adjusted for one-off items   Outlook At the release of its annual results on 11 March, management announced that, thanks to ongoing cost-saving measures, normalized operating profit is expected to rise by over 65% in 2025, reaching €225 million. Normalized EBITDA is projected to come in at €475 million. However, the company also noted that a number of one-off expenses will be incurred due to restructuring efforts and investments aimed at improving operational efficiency. Table 2: Balance Sheet as of December 2024. *Including goodwill. **Including lease liabilities. Table 2 shows that intangible assets are valued at €0.4 billion. This implies that roughly €0.5 billion of tangible book value remains within equity, or €2.96 per share. Total debt amounts to €0.9 billion, while cash and cash equivalents stand at €0.5 billion. This results in a net debt position of €0.4 billion. Based on normalized 2024 EBITDA, the net debt/EBITDA ratio is just 1.1x. This means HelloFresh is far from its maximum borrowing capacity and can easily raise additional liquidity if needed. CEO Increases His Stake In September, it was announced that co-founder and CEO Dominik Richter privately purchased 1.5 million shares for a total of approximately €10 million. As a result, his ownership stake increased from 4.2% to 5.0%. We view this as a very strong signal—the ultimate insider showing confidence by making a personal, high-conviction investment of this scale. Share Buyback Program Throughout 2024, HelloFresh repurchased approximately 10.3 million shares under its share buyback program, at an average price of €8.00. Although the program was originally set to expire in December, it has been extended, with an additional €75 million allocated for further repurchases in 2025. At the current share price, this allows for the repurchase of 9 to 10 million shares, representing more than 5% of total shares outstanding. Given the depressed share price, we believe this is a highly effective use of capital. Valuation Forecast As shown in Table 3, based on 2027 estimates, HelloFresh is trading at a price/earnings ratio of 8.0x and an EV/FCF multiple of 7.8x. Table 3: Estimates through 2027   Conclusion: Worth Buying The valuation metrics just mentioned are suspiciously low for a market leader. That said, we’re confident there are no skeletons in the closet—after all, the CEO personally bought €10 million worth of shares last September. The only plausible explanation for the current discount is modest profitability. However, HelloFresh is in a unique position to benefit from economies of scale, and it seems only a matter of time before it outcompetes its rivals and significantly boosts its bottom line. We’re issuing a Buy recommendation. As a preliminary price target, we once again set €13 per share—and even at that level, we believe the stock remains undervalued. The author holds a long position in HelloFresh. Auteur heeft op moment van schrijven een positie in HelloFresh. Major Shareholders Active Ownership Corp SARL: 7.7% Dominik Richter (CEO): 5.0% Key Data Name: HelloFresh Ticker: HFG Sector: Food – Retail Exchange: IBIS (Germany) ISIN: DE000A161408 52-week low: €4.42 52-week high: €13.92 Share price: €7.78 Shares outstanding: 162 million Market capitalization: €1.3 billion Cash position: €0.5 billion Total debt: €0.9 billion Net debt: €0.4 billion Enterprise value (EV): €1.7 billion EV/revenue: 0.23x Tangible book value per share: €2.96 Price/tangible book: 2.7x Dividend per share: €0.00 Website: ir.hellofreshgroup.com

The Dutch staffing company Brunel is a globally operating specialist employment agency, active in various fields, including energy, engineering and IT. Brunel distinguishes itself from its competitors by its focus on highly qualified specialists and niche markets, such as the oil and gas industry and renewable energy, combined with a strong global presence. Employment agencies are generally considered early cyclical. This is because companies are more likely to hire temporary staff during an economic recovery before they hire permanent employees. Conversely, temporary workers are often the first to be laid off during an economic downturn. Although the results are not looking good at the moment and there is no concrete recovery visible yet, the share is trading at a low valuation and pays an attractive dividend. Sharesunderten believes that Brunel should not be listed for less than ten euros and is therefore quickly seizing this opportunity and advising its members to do the same. Brunel share price development over the past year. Source: Google. CEO change Early July it was announced that the current CEO, Jilko Andringa, will step down at the end of this year. It has also been announced that Peter de Laat will be appointed CEO as of October 1, 2024. De Laat has been working at Brunel since 2012 and has fulfilled the role of CFO since 2014. He knows the company well and looks forward to further strengthening Brunel and leading the developments in the industry and markets. In the meantime, the Supervisory Board is looking for a successor to his current position as CFO. Results Table 1 shows the results of the first half year. Despite a strong turnover growth of 7.9% compared to last year, gross profit remains the same, causing the gross profit margin to decrease by 150 basis points. As a result, EBIT decreases by €2 million to €25 million, which is 7.4% lower than in the first half of 2023. (in million euros) H1 2024 H1 2023 Difference Turnover 696 645 7,9% Gross profit 134 134 0,0% Gross profit margin 19,3% 20,8% -1,5% Ebit 25 27 -7,4% Ebitmarge 3,6% 4,2% -0,6% Net profit 15 16 -6,3% Net profit per share € 0,30 € 0,32 -6,3% Table 1. The results of the past six months. The results speak for themselves: Brunel is struggling. Despite rising turnover, profits are falling, partly due to inflationary pressure. The challenges in Germany and Asia are also not helping to improve the situation. However, ING analysts expect EBIT to grow by double digits next calendar year. In addition, Brunel’s management is counting on recovery from 2025. Cost savings In response to challenging market conditions across several regions, Brunel has announced significant cost savings to strengthen profitability. The company is implementing a cost savings plan worth €20 million, which equates to approximately 10% of operating costs. These savings are being driven by digital investments, including improvements to Brunel’s global IT infrastructure, which will increase efficiency and reduce support functions and management layers, without affecting sales capacity. The company expects part of these savings (€4-5 million) to be visible in the second half of 2024, while the remaining amount (€14-15 million) will be realised in 2025. This plan is aimed at improving the conversion ratios (the ratio of EBIT to gross profit), which have so far lagged behind the targets. Through these measures, Brunel expects to be able to realise profit growth, even in the event of continued weakness in markets such as Germany. Risks in Germany and delays in Asia Brunel faces significant challenges in both Germany and Asia, two important markets for the company. In Germany, market conditions remain weak, particularly in the automotive sector, where volumes are declining and margins are being squeezed. This is causing continued uncertainty and is negatively impacting revenue growth. Despite cost-saving measures, no rapid recovery is expected in Germany in the coming quarters. In Asia, Brunel is facing project delays in the conventional energy sector, with completions pushed back to early 2025. These delays have negatively impacted growth expectations for this region in 2024. While the long-term outlook, particularly in the renewable energy sector, remains positive, these short-term challenges are having a dampening effect on both profitability and growth in both regions. Renewable energy Brunel sees significant growth opportunities in the renewable energy sector, which is playing an increasingly important role in its strategy. Despite delays to some projects in Asia, the renewable energy project pipeline remains strong. This sector is seen as a key driver of future growth, with a robust order book for the remainder of 2024 and beyond. The focus on sustainable energy not only provides Brunel with the opportunity to capitalise on global energy transitions, but also to benefit from the increasing investment in green energy infrastructure. With major projects planned for 2025, Brunel expects its renewable energy activities to make a significant contribution to medium-term earnings growth. Reason for confidence Sharesunderonetientje sees strong opportunities in the sectors in which Brunel operates. Energy, and in particular renewable energy, is expected to experience significant growth. Brunel’s strategic focus on these sectors, combined with its global expertise and strong order pipeline, gives us confidence that the company is well positioned to benefit from the increasing demand for sustainable energy solutions. In addition, Brunel’s cost-saving measures, which are improving margins and conversion rates, provide a solid basis for profit growth, even in challenging markets such as Germany and Asia. The combination of these factors makes us positive about Brunel’s future. Assessment and conclusion Although no concrete recovery is visible in the results over the past half year and management itself does not expect this to happen in the next six months, Sharesunderten believes that investors are currently assuming a worst-case scenario. Analysts state that even in a full recession in Germany, the EBIT of the entire company will still grow by double digits in 2025. With an expected net profit per share of €1.03 in 2025 and €1.21 in 2026, the price-earnings ratios for those years come to