21st Oct 2005 07:00
PartyGaming Plc21 October 2005 21 October 2005 PartyGaming Plc ("PartyGaming" or the "Company" and, together with its subsidiaries, the "Group") Third Quarter Key Performance Indicators and Trading Update Highlights • Group revenues in Q3 up 32% to $220.0 million (2004 : $166.1 million) • Total active player days up 53% to 12.2 million (2004 : 8.0 million) • Very encouraging results from recent launch of new platform • Strong current trading with uplift in both poker and casino • Group remains comfortable with market expectations for 2005 Commenting on today's announcement, Richard Segal, Chief Executive, said: "Revenues for the third quarter were in line with consensus expectations and Iam pleased to report that, since the end of the third quarter, there has been amaterial uplift in performance across all of the Group's activities. "Moving PartyPoker.com on to a stand-alone platform, with increased customerfunctionality, has contributed to an encouraging increase in poker revenue.Further, the initial response to cross-selling our casino games toPartyPoker.com customers has been much stronger than anticipated. Accordingly,the Group remains comfortable with consensus forecasts for revenue and EBITDAbefore share option and IPO costs for the current financial year. "We remain on target to launch a fully integrated, Party-branded platformfeaturing a shared purse and the first of our new games in the first half of2006. We remain confident about the Group's prospects." Poker - Key Performance Indicators Three months to 30 September 2005 2004Active Player Days 12,037,464 7,838,774Daily average players 130,842 85,204Yield per Active Player Day $16.6 $18.9New real money sign-ups 209,372 183,065Unique active players during the period 671,750 412,804Unique active players in September 443,307 298,622Average daily rake $2,167,619 $1,611,575 Nine months to 30 September 2005 2004Active Player Days 34,381,147 18,893,086Daily average players 125,938 68,953Yield per Active Player Day $17.4 $19.1New real money sign-ups 610,040 414,839Unique active players during the period 1,077,240 560,671Unique active players in September 443,307 298,622Average daily rake $2,185,542 $1,316,152 During the period, poker revenues (including skins) were up by 38% compared withthe previous year to $209.1m and up by 4% compared with the second quarter.Substantial numbers of new real money players continued to be recruited toPartyPoker.com with over 209,000 new players added during the quarter (2004 :183,000). While active player days increased by 54% compared with 2004 and by6% versus the second quarter to 12.0 million, yield per active player day fellto $16.6, resulting in average daily rake in the period of $2.2million (2004 :$1.6million). On 8 October 2005 the Group announced that as part of its strategy to launch anintegrated systems platform, PartyPoker.com had been separated from the originalpoker system and re-launched on its own platform with a number of new featuresincluding Blackjack and Side Bets as well as a new poker school. Following thelaunch of the new platform and introduction of these new products, trading hasbeen very encouraging. Customer acquisition and retention continue to be core areas of focus. Whilethe poker market remains competitive, the Group has been successful in reducingcustomer acquisition costs compared with the first half of the year. Casino - Key Performance Indicators Three months to 30 September 2005 2004Active Player Days 184,881 170,806Daily average players 2,010 1,857Yield per Active Player Day $59.2 $82.1New real money sign-ups 19,991 13,073Unique active players during the period 30,743 25,813Unique active players in September 14,302 11,843Average daily revenue $119,033 $152,517 Nine months to 30 September 2005 2004Active Player Days 517,959 496,436Daily average players 1,897 1,812Yield per Active Player Day $70.3 $76.7New real money sign-ups 54,480 43,242Unique active players during the period 63,275 56,653Unique active players in September 14,302 11,843Average daily revenue $133,270 $138,992 Casino revenues were $11.0 million in the period which was $2.1 million belowthat achieved in the previous quarter. Despite an increase in new sign-ups toalmost 20,000 in the period, which boosted the overall level of active playerdays by 12% compared with the second quarter, lower activity levels by some highvalue players at StarluckCasino.com reduced the yield per active player day to$59.2. Current Trading Since the end of September there has been a marked improvement in poker andcasino. Launching the new platform and introducing new features forPartyPoker.com has had a significant and positive impact and, since the launch,daily gross poker revenue (excluding skins) has increased by 10% versus theaverage for the third quarter. Moreover, the initial response from customers toplaying casino games using their PartyPoker.com account has been very positive.The Group remains comfortable with consensus forecasts for revenue and EBITDAbefore share option and IPO costs for the current financial year. Contacts: PartyGaming Plc +44 (0)20 7337 0100Peter Reynolds, Director of Investor RelationsJohn Shepherd, Director of Corporate Communications Financial Dynamics +44 (0)20 7831 3113Edward Bridges / Juliet Clarke Conference call Friday 21 October 2005 For analysts and investors there will be an opportunity to put questions toRichard Segal, Chief Executive, and Martin Weigold, Group Finance Director, byway of a conference call. The details of the call are as follows: 9.20 am Please call +44(0) 20 7162 0125 (UK) or +1 866 803 8344 (US)Password: PartyGaming9.30 am Conference call starts A recording of the conference call will be available for a period of seven daysfrom 21 October 2005. To access the recording please dial one of the followingreplay telephone numbers: Replay no: +44(0) 20 7031 4064 (available for 1 week) (UK)Replay passcode: 679344 US Replay no: +1 954 334 0342 (available for 1 week) (US)Replay passcode: 679344 All times are BST. 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