Interim Results

Gaming VC Holdings S.A. 05 September 2005 Gaming VC Holdings S.A Maiden Interim Results for the Half-Year Ended 30th June 2005 Gaming VC Holdings S.A., a leading online casino games operator, is pleased to announce maiden interim audited results for the half year ended 30th June 2005. Gaming VC went public in December 2004 with the largest Internet casino and media company flotation ever on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM), successfully raising £81m. These funds were used to purchase the assets of Casinos International NV (Casino-Club), the dominant online casino in German-speaking markets, and to establish Gaming VC as a new force in the online gaming marketplace. FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS * Handle EUR 880 million * Net Revenue EUR 21.3 million * Profit Before Tax EUR 11.1 million * Cash generated from operations of EUR 11.9 million * Basic earnings per share EUR 0.36 * Dividend declared of 21p per share OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS * 8,115 new depositing customers * Conversion rate after first registration of 62% * New developments in the period: + Soft launch of Spanish site + Planned launch of new Poker site * Two magazines published as per plan Commenting on the first half results Steve Barlow, CEO said: 'Being a new company, our first six months has been about getting the financial systems and key personnel required to position Gaming VC for growth as well as maintaining the existing business. 'We had an excellent first quarter supported by some initial marketing in Germany including the distributions of our magazine. During the second quarter we didn't spend as much as we had originally planned on marketing, which impacted our revenue figures. We have a major marketing initiative under way in the second half which we anticipate will kick start revenue growth.' For further information contact: Steve Barlow, CEO 020 7554 1400 Robert Willis, CFO 020 7554 1400 Ken Cronin, Gavin Anderson & Company 020 7554 1400 Robert Speed, Gavin Anderson & Company 020 7554 1400 Note to Editors Gaming VC Holdings SA (AIM: GMHq.L) is a leading online casino games operator with an annualized handle in excess of EUR 1.5 billion. The majority of its existing customers come from German speaking countries. The company listed on the Alternative Investment Market in December 2004. Gaming VC Holdings also owns two magazines, Casino Club and Roulette. Through these unique marketing and information magazines it is able to attract and retain casino games players. STRATEGY Casino-Club has a leading position in the German speaking gaming market that has allowed it to become the leading online casino brand in Germany. The Group's strategy is to improve profitability of these operations through more effective management and marketing. In addition, the Group intends to develop the Casino-Club brand throughout Europe, initially targeting Spain with Italy and Russia on the near horizon. The Company intends to target these markets using the customer acquisition and retention techniques used to develop the existing business coupled with database mining, affiliate programs and other internet and traditional marketing efforts. In parallel to the current gaming offering, the Company intends to introduce new products, the first of which is poker. OPERATIONAL AND MARKETING REVIEW The first six months have been very active in terms of establishing the building blocks of a quoted Company. Key finance and marketing roles have been filled to bring specialized expertise, knowledge, and experience to the organization. For our existing customers, two Casino-Club magazine editions have been published in Germany in the first six months, in addition to a customized Spanish-language version to introduce Casino-Club to Spain. The first issue was sent out in late March (c70k copies) and the second issue mid June (c90k copies ). Customer databases and other tools necessary to track customers and ensure customer longevity have also been established. The Company is working to expand the geographic areas it serves to encompass Spain in the second half of 2005. With the move to new regions, the focus will be on customizing the gaming experience to match the language and unique needs of each geographic region - bringing the winning Casino-Club approach to new markets. The groundwork for expanding products in late 2005 has been laid by establishing the marketing and technological plan for offering a best-of-breed online poker offering on Casino-Club later this year. While Roulette and Black Jack remain the Company's most popular games, leveraging the current popularity and high visibility of online poker is desirable. German Marketing Casino Club's quarterly player magazine mailed twice during the period. Strong revenues subsequent to each posting continue to make management believe that this method continues to be effective in engaging customers to play more and more often at Casino Club. Casino Club also recently started monthly electronic newsletters to players who have opted-in for email communication. Management is currently testing new segmentation targeting methods. Player acquisition efforts were restarted in Germany with a large direct mail test campaign. Over fifty lists and four different offers were tested. A new campaign tracking system was implemented to measure results. Preliminary campaign results to date suggest direct mail will continue to be an economic acquisition channel at the targeted level of €250 per new paid player. The Company has engaged an external gaming-focused agency to help in the implementation of various paid media channels to acquire more German-speaking players. Included in this will be search engine optimization, affiliate marketing and rich media (banner/button) campaigns. Spanish marketing Following an initial exploratory intelligence gathering email and mail campaign into Spain to test messages and medium, the company has developed its plan more fully and is now ready for a simultaneous launch of poker and casino in September. Research in Spain shows a primary target audience of 4.7 million potential customers that matches the demographics of the Company's German customer base. Quantitative research shows 40% of this target audience are early adopters who have already an affinity for online gaming. Poker Casino Club's on-line poker room completed a soft-launch in August, and underwent beta-level testing during the European holiday. Substantive marketing efforts promoting this new product set are scheduled to launch in early September with Casino Club magazine and to new prospects by mid-to-late Sept via direct marketing mail campaigns. The launch in Spain will be educational as research shows that Europeans want more information on how to play the game. In Spain newspaper, radio and online media will be used, backed up by a company-sponsored celebrity, Juan Carlos Mortensen, appearing at the Barcelona Open (Sept 13-18th ). In due course a Gaming VC poker tournament will be held and an e-zine will be published. The poker launch in Germany will be similar, promoting an educational .net address. A combination of direct mail and e-marketing will be used. The Casino-Club Magazine will include a poker section. The Company will also run tournaments, giving prizes and trips. Dividends The Board has decided to pay an interim dividend of 21p (c€ 0.302) per share on 30 September 2005 to shareholders on the register at close of business on 16 September 2005. This will consume a total of 6,538,511 GBP (c9.6 million Euros) in cash. MANAGEMENT In addition to the recent key marketing hires, the Company is recruiting a Chief Marketing Officer. As a result of the recent appointment of Marie Stevens as Chairman of 888.com, the Company has reluctantly accepted her offer of resignation. OUTLOOK The second half of 2005 promises to be very exciting. We will see the results of the first marketing campaign into Germany, the full launch of products into Spain and the launch of Poker. Visibility of the performance of the marketing campaigns as well as impact on trading will become much clearer into the fourth quarter. The Group is well positioned to take full advantage of a number of new opportunities including growth from its current market place. FINANCIAL REVIEW Gross Wagering Activity and Turnover Strong turnover was experienced during the first quarter due to seasonal factors as well as novelty increases associated with the introduction of new, high-margin, online slot machine games. Despite 8,115 new depositing customers, revenue in the second quarter softened due to the normal decay rate of the customer base combined with minimal deployment of marketing resources. The total gross wagering activity was € 880 million, with a house drop of € 22.8 million and net revenue of €21.3 million. Gross wagering and gross house drop include the effect of bonuses, which are inducements to wager offered by the Group to customers. Roulette is still the most popular game accounting for approximately 70% of all wagers placed Gross Profit The Group achieved gross profits of € 16.5 million. The primary costs of goods sold for the group are the turn-key on-line casino services provided by Boss Media and its subsidiaries. Operating Profit The major general and administrative costs of the Group are personnel-related, including travel, legal and financial providers, and marketing. In addition, the Group operates online slot-machine games with associated 'progressive' jackpots. These jackpots provide the opportunity to customers to win an aggregated jackpot amount which, until won, progressively increase with time. For the reporting period, the Group had total personnel salary and benefit costs of € 1.0 million . The total Group headcount at the end of the reporting period was 14. The Group expects modest increases in these costs in the second half of 2005. The Group makes use of best-of-breed financial and legal service providers. This outsource model is necessary and efficient because of the disparate physical and legal structure of the Group. In the reporting period, the Group had outsourced finance service provider costs of € 0.1 million and outsourced legal service provider costs of € 0.4 million The Group expects that these costs will remain approximately the same for the second half of 2005. The Group's marketing expenditures of € 0.9 million in the reporting period are substantially lower than the expected run-rate to be deployed in the future. The level of future resource commitments in the marketing function of the Group will be based on the success of new marketing initiatives currently being implemented. The Group had no substantial jackpot winners in the reporting period. The jackpot balance at 30 June 2005 was approximately € 1.3 million and represents a future potential source of operating profit volatility. The total operating costs of the Group in the reporting period were € 5.3 million The Group therefore realized an operating profit of € 11.2 million. Taxes The Group has been structured to provide maximum earnings efficiency through the use of advantageous tax treaties between countries where the Group has established legal entities. The result of this structuring is a total tax charge of € 0.01 million for the reporting period. The Group periodically reviews all of the relevant and controlling tax regulations to sustain this benefit. Cash Flow Because of the low effective tax rate of the Group and the lack of leverage in use, the Group delivered 107.6% of profit for period. Additionally, the Group has minimal capital expenditures of € 0.1 million, primarily relating to computer equipment and software, in the period ending 30 June 2005. In the reporting period, the Group generated € 11.9 million of cash from operating activities. Dividends The Board has decided to pay an interim dividend of 21p (c€ 0.302) per share on 30 September 2005 to shareholders on the register at close of business on 16 September 2005. This will consume a total of 6,538,511 GBP (c9.6 million Euros) in cash. The consolidated income statement, balance sheet, cash flow and statement of recognized income included in this press release have been extracted from the audited interim financial statements of Gaming VC Holdings S.A., which will be available on the company's web site by the end of September. Consolidated income statement Audited For the period ended 30 June 2005 6 month 1 month Period ended Period ended 30 June 31 December 2005 2004 In thousands of euro Revenue 21,269 670 Cost of sales (4,794) (137) ------------------------------ Gross profit 16,475 533 Distribution expenses (859) - Administrative expenses (4,437) (161) ------------------------------ Operating profit before financing costs 11,179 372 Financial income 16 7 Financial expenses (138) - ------------------------------ Net financing costs (122) - ------------------------------ Profit before tax 11,057 379 Income tax expense (13) (5) ------------------------------ Profit for the period 11,044 374 ------------------------------ Basic earnings per share (euro) 0.36 0.02 Diluted earnings per share (euro) 0.35 0.02 Consolidated statement of recognised income and expense Audited For the period ended 30 June 2005 6 month 1 month In thousands of euro Period ended Period ended 30 June 31 December 2005 2004 Profit and total recognised income and expense for the 11,044 374 period Consolidated Balance sheet As at 30 June 2005 In thousands of euro Assets Property, plant and equipment 55 - Intangible assets 104,159 105,479 Total non-current assets 104,214 105,479 ---------------------------------- Trade and other receivables 3,192 752 Cash and cash equivalents 12,058 1,270 ---------------------------------- Total current assets 15,250 2,022 ---------------------------------- Total assets 119,464 107,501 ---------------------------------- Equity Issued capital 38,608 38,608 Share premium 67,522 67,522 Retained earnings 11,582 383 ---------------------------------- Total equity attributable to equity holders of the parent 117,712 106,513 ---------------------------------- Liabilities Trade and other payables 1,752 988 Total current liabilities 1,752 988 ---------------------------------- Total liabilities 1,752 988 ---------------------------------- Total equity and liabilities 119,464 107,501 ---------------------------------- Consolidated statement of cash flows Audited For the period ended 30 June 2005 6 month 1 month Period ended Period ended 30 June 31 December In thousands of euro 2005 2004 Cash flows from operating activities Cash receipts from customers 19,828 50 Cash paid to suppliers and employees (7,950) (268) -------------------------------- Net cash from operating activities 11,878 (218) -------------------------------- Cash flows from investing activities Interest received 15 - Acquisition of business - (105,516) Acquisition of property, plant and equipment (65) - Acquisition of intellectual property (75) - -------------------------------- Net cash from investing activities (125) (105,516) -------------------------------- Cash flows from financing activities Proceeds from the issue of share capital - 117,562 Payment of transaction costs (849) (10,565) Net cash from financing activities (849) 106,997 -------------------------------- Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 10,904 1,263 Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January 1,270 - Effect of exchange rate fluctuations on cash held (116) 7 -------------------------------- Cash and cash equivalents at 30 June 12,058 1,270 -------------------------------- This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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