888 HOLDINGS STILL ON AN INTERNET GAMBLING ROLL
4/24/2012 : 888 HOLDINGS STILL ON AN INTERNET GAMBLING ROLL
Strong Q1 results, with online poker performing particularly well
The online gambling group 888 Holdings plc has released a strong set of Q1-2012 results, with highlights that include:
* Group revenue US$94 million (Q1 2011: US$75 million), an increase of 25 percent year-on-year and a 4 percent increase compared to the strong Q4 2011
* Revenue B2C US$83 million (Q1 2011: US$64 million), an increase of 29 percent year-on-year and a 5 percent increase compared to Q4 2011, driven by Casino and Poker
* Number of active customers B2C Casino and Poker at 566,000, an 87 percent increase compared to Q1 2011, driven by successful new customer recruitment and marketing initiatives
Key Performance Indicators include:
Group
* Revenue B2C US$83 million (Q1 2011: US$64 million), an increase of 29 percent year-on-year and a 5 percent increase compared to Q4 2011, driven by Casino and Poker
* As at 31 March 2012, 888 had 11.3 million in 888Casino, Poker and Sport real money registered customer accounts, representing an increase of 23 percent since 31 March 2011
Business to Consumer
* Revenue B2C at US$83 million (Q1 2011: US$64 million), an increase of 29 percent year-on-year and an increase of 5 percent compared to Q4 2011
* Revenue B2C Casino at US$42 million (Q1 2011: US$33 million), an increase of 26 percent year-on-year and an increase of 2 percent above Q4 2011
* Remarkably, revenue B2C Poker at US$21 million (Q1 2011: US$11 million), an increase of 88 percent year-on-year and an increase of 14 percent compared to Q4 2011. Some company restructuring may have ifluenced these numbers.
* Revenue B2C Bingo at US$14 million (Q1 2011: US$14 million), a decrease of 5 percent year-on-year and an increase of 4 percent compared to Q4 2011
* Revenue B2C Emerging Offering at US$6 million (Q1 2011: US$5 million), an increase of 14 percent year-on-year and an increase of 4 percent compared to Q4 2011
* Number of active customers B2C Casino and Poker at 566,000, an increase of 87 percent compared to Q1 2011
* Number of active customers B2C Casino at 227,000, an increase of 76 percent compared to Q1 2011
* Number of active customers B2C Poker at 405,000, an increase of 83 percent compared to Q1 2011
* Quarterly revenue B2C per active Casino and Poker customer was US$112, a 24 percent decrease compared to Q1 2011
* Quarterly revenue B2C per active Casino customer was US$185, a 28 percent decrease compared to Q1 2011
* Quarterly revenue B2C per active Poker customer was US$52, a 3 percent increase compared to Q1 2011
Business to Business
* Revenue B2B at US$11 million, an increase of 3 percent year-on-year and a decrease of 6 percent compared to Q1 2012
Current Trading
Management reports that trading during the first three weeks of the second quarter continued to be strong, with average daily revenue 1 percent higher than Q1 2012, and 26 percent higher than Q1 2011.
"Although we expect to see a return to the historic seasonal pattern as we move through the quarter, given the strength of the business and our continued strategic focus we are confident of further progress during the year," the report notes.
As at 13 April 2012 the 888 group had US$72 million of cash and cash equivalents, of which US$46 million represented liabilities to customers.
Chief executive Brian Mattingley said: "Our focused strategy has led to another excellent quarter, with ongoing strength in Poker driving March to the highest ever monthly revenues in the history of 888. Poker has continued its robust performance in the early stages of Q2, with our other product areas seeing an expected return to seasonal patterns.
"There are significant growth opportunities offered by the liberalisation of new markets, which will take investment to realise. We will continue to invest throughout 2012 in order to build market share."
