888 Holdings plc
10 May 2006
10 May 2006
888 Holdings Public Limited Company ('888' or the 'Company')
Q1 2006 KPIs and Trading Update
At the AGM to be held today the Chairman of 888 Holdings Public Limited Company,
one of the world's most popular online gaming companies, will make the following
statement:
888 today provides the following trading update for the first quarter of 2006.
Key financials for the three months ended 31 March 2006:
• Net Gaming Revenue rose to US$84 million, an increase of 42% above Q1 2005
• Net Gaming Revenue from casino increased to US$45 million, an increase of 15%
above Q1 2005
• Net Gaming Revenue from poker rose to US$39 million, an increase of 95% above
Q1 2005
Key KPIs:
• Number of active* members - 319,374, up 23% on Q1 2005
- Casino active members - 80,947, marginally up on Q1 2005
- Poker active members - 238,427, a 33% increase on Q1 2005
• Monthly poker rake (rake from ring games plus tournament fees) in March 2006
was 66% higher than March 2005
• In Q1 2006, quarterly net gaming revenue per active casino member was $554
compared to $419 in Q4 2005 and Poker quarterly net gaming revenue per active
member was $162 compared to $156 in Q4 2005
* An active member refers to an individual member who had made a game-related
balance movement in a real money account in the relevant quarter
Trading Outlook
888 had a positive start to the current year with an improvement in net margins.
The first quarter was seasonally strong and we anticipate the historical
seasonal pattern to continue into the second and third quarter with margins more
akin to historical levels. Growth in the US continues yet we are growing faster
out of the US, gradually reducing our dependence on the territory in line with
the company's long term strategy.
In April the group released a new Poker product introducing a new multi-hand
feature which is expected to drive Poker growth. The new Casino Product,
introduced in January, was well received and is performing well. In May the
group expanded its platform offerings with the release of the Casino product to
mobile phones. In April the Group received increased media exposure driven by
the 17 day 888.com World Snooker Championship and the progress of Middlesborough
FC to the UEFA Cup final.
We continue to drive our business for long term sustainable profit and overall
we remain confident of making good progress in the current year.
As announced last week, the Company has appointed Gigi Levy as COO with effect
from 18 June 2006.
Contacts and enquiries
888
John Anderson Chief Executive Officer +350 49800
Aviad Kobrine Chief Financial Officer +350 49800
Bell Pottinger Corporate & Financial
Nick Lambert +44 (0)20 7861 3232
Notes to Editors
888.com is the most popular online casino and poker operator. It is
headquartered and licensed in Gibraltar with further offices in Tel Aviv,
Antigua and London. It has over 23 million registered member accounts in over
177 countries worldwide and customer support is available in 11 languages - 24
hours a day, seven days a week.
In October 2005 888's shares were admitted to the main market of the London
Stock Exchange with an initial market capitalisation of £590 million.
888.com offers traditional casino products such as blackjack, roulette, craps,
baccarat, keno, slot machines, video, and a variety of poker games. Its main
poker offering is provided through the Pacific Poker brand which offers ring
games and tournaments.
The Group has its own R&D arm that is based in Israel and develops proprietary
software for exclusive use by 888.com. This enables the Group to continually
evolve and develop the software and systems to give customers a state of the art
gaming experience. It also provides a full back office management system that is
owned and controlled directly by 888. This ensures the company is not reliant on
third parties for its software.
888 has been at the forefront of moves to ensure that the industry is subject to
a high level of regulation. It was instrumental in the foundation of the
eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA) initiative. This
has established a set of best practice regulations and enforces them through a
combination of independent monitoring and inspection. Through the establishment
of eCOGRA, 888 has helped to create a regulatory framework that delivers safe,
honest and player-sensitive online gambling.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
*A Private Investor is a recipient of the information who meets all of the conditions set out below, the recipient:
Obtains access to the information in a personal capacity;
Is not required to be regulated or supervised by a body concerned with the regulation or supervision of investment or financial services;
Is not currently registered or qualified as a professional securities trader or investment adviser with any national or state exchange, regulatory authority, professional association or recognised professional body;
Does not currently act in any capacity as an investment adviser, whether or not they have at some time been qualified to do so;
Uses the information solely in relation to the management of their personal funds and not as a trader to the public or for the investment of corporate funds;
Does not distribute, republish or otherwise provide any information or derived works to any third party in any manner or use or process information or derived works for any commercial purposes.
Please note, this site uses cookies. Some of the cookies are essential for parts of the site to operate and have already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but if you do, parts of the site may not work. To find out more about the cookies used on Investegate and how you can manage them, see our Privacy and Cookie Policy
To continue using Investegate, please confirm that you are a private investor as well as agreeing to our Privacy and Cookie Policy & Terms.