1st Nov 2005 07:02
888 Holdings plc01 November 2005 1 November 2005 888 Holdings Public Limited Company ("888" or the "Company") Q3 KPIs and Trading Update 888, one of the world's most popular online gaming companies today provides the following trading update for the third quarter of 2005 and cumulative results for the nine months ended 30 September 2005. Key financials for the three months ended 30 September 2005: * Net Gaming Revenue rose to US$70 million, an increase of 56% above Q3 2004. * Net Gaming Revenue from casino increased to US$40.5 million, an increase of 18.3% above Q3 2004. * Net Gaming Revenue from poker rose to US$29.5 million, an increase of 178% above Q3 2004. Key KPIs: * Number of active* members increased to 316,553, up 118% on Q3 2004 - Casino active members - 88,301 a 73% increase on Q3 2004 - Poker active members - 228,252, a 143% increase on Q3 2004. * Monthly poker rake (rake from ring games plus tournament fees) in September 2005 was 135% higher than September 2004 and 44% higher than January 2005. * In Q3 2005, quarterly net gaming revenue per active casino member at $458 compared to $463 in Q2 2005, remained relatively stable as expected for this seasonally quieter time of year. In poker we continue to experience strong performance with quarterly net gaming revenue per active member up 19% from $109 in Q2 2005 to $129 in Q3 2005. Key cumulative financials for the nine months ended 30 September 2005: - Net Gaming Revenue during the first 9 months of 2005 rose to US$194 million, an increase of 51% above the same period in 2004. - Net Gaming Revenue from casino during the first 9 months of 2005 rose to US$120.4 million, an increase of 16% above the same period in 2004. - Net Gaming Revenue from poker during the first 9 months of 2005 rose to US$73.4 million, an increase of 204% above the same period in 2004. As stated at flotation, 888 believes its leading position in the global onlinegaming market provides a strong platform from which it can continue itsexpansion into new geographic markets and product verticals. 888 will target newmarkets by leveraging the member acquisition, member development and data miningtechniques used to develop its existing businesses. Trading Outlook Trading for the first four weeks of the final quarter has been strong across thebusinesses with a continued significant increase in poker rake from ring games,as well as a further increase in new real money member sign-ups. Commenting on the announcement, John Anderson, CEO, said: "Our performance for this three month period has been particularly pleasinggiven that historically, trading for the casino segment in July and August isthe weakest for the year. The results for October are encouraging and the business continues to perform inline with our expectations in both poker and casino. We are confident that the888 business model is strongly positioned to take advantage of the continuedgrowth in the worldwide online gaming market." Contacts and enquiries 888John Anderson Chief Executive Officer +350 49800Aviad Kobrine Chief Financial Officer +350 49800 Bell Pottinger Corporate & FinancialAnn-Marie Wilkinson +44 (0)20 7861 3232Nick LambertGeoff Callow 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, Antiguaand London. It has over 20 million registered member accounts in over 150countries worldwide and customer support is available in 11 languages - 24 hoursa day, seven days a week. In October 2005 888's shares were admitted to the main market of the LondonStock 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 mainpoker offering is provided through the Pacific Poker brand which offers ringgames and tournaments. Other offerings include the Betmate betting exchange (for non US members only),other skill games such as checkers, backgammon and arcade games (888.tv) as wellas free poker school and other casino games through 888.info The Group has its own R&D arm that is based in Israel and develops proprietarysoftware for exclusive use by 888.com. This enables the Group to continuallyevolve and develop the software and systems to give customers a state of the artgaming experience. It also provides a full back office management system that isowned and controlled directly by 888. This ensures the company is not reliant onthird parties for its software. 888 has been at the forefront of moves to ensure that the industry is subject toa high level of regulation. It was instrumental in the foundation of theeCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA) initiative. Thishas established a set of best practice regulations and enforces them through acombination of independent monitoring and inspection. Through the establishmentof eCOGRA, 888 has helped to create a regulatory framework that delivers safe,honest and player-sensitive online gambling. --------------------------* An active member refers to an individual member who had made a game-relatedbalance movement in a real money account in the relevant quarter. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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