20th Jun 2005 07:00
Gaming VC Holdings S.A.20 June 2005 20 June 2005 Gaming VC Holdings S.A. ("the Company") Pre-Close Period Update In advance of the Company entering the pre-interim close period, the Directorsof the Company wish to provide the following trading update for the first sixmonths of 2005. The Directors are pleased to confirm that overall cash conversion during thefirst half has remained strong, and available cash resources are sufficient topay the forecasted interim dividend of 21p per share. First quarter daily average net revenues were ahead of expectations drivenprimarily by the strong underlying performance of the existing business and thelaunch of new slot machine games. However, during the second quarter, theCompany has experienced a weakening in revenues. As a result estimated half-yearrevenues of Euro 21 Million are below target. The Directors believe that suchweakening in revenues is due to insufficient marketing, as the Directors tooktime to conclude their marketing strategy and establish appropriate trackingmechanisms to control marketing spend. During the first half of 2005, the Directors have focused attention uponreviewing and planning the marketing strategies appropriate to sustain and buildthe business. Following the conclusion of this review, in mid-June the Companyinitiated the first in a series of new marketing programs the benefits of whichhave already impacted on the performance of the business, with daily revenuesincreasing. Several other large-scale marketing programs have been prepared and will belaunched over the coming weeks. In addition, the Company has developed adetailed marketing strategy for the remainder of the year. The Directors willkeep this strategy and the impact of each specific marketing campaign underconstant review. In addition to the efforts described above, the Company has made significantprogress in other areas, including the initial penetration of the Spanish casinomarket, the acquisition and test deployment of peer-to-peer poker technology inadvance of full launch in July, the successful consummation of an affiliatejoint venture, and other strategic co-marketing efforts. CEO Steve Barlow commented, "Whilst we are disappointed to have fallen short ofsome of our targets, we are encouraged by the success of our recent marketingefforts and are confident that the strategy we have defined will allow us tomeet market expectations for the year." For further information contact: Steve Barlow, CEO 020 7554 1400Robert Willis, CFO 020 7554 1400Ken Cronin/Robert Speed, Gavin Anderson & Company 020 7554 1400 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
GVC.L