27th Jan 2006 07:01
PartyGaming Plc27 January 2006 27 January 2006 PartyGaming Plc ("PartyGaming" or the "Company" and, together with its subsidiaries, the "Group") Fourth Quarter Key Performance Indicators and Trading Update Highlights • Group revenues up 65% to $320.3 million (2004: $194.0 million) • Total active player days up 62% to 15.4 million (2004: 9.5 million) • Yield per active player day in poker ahead 8% to $17.9 versus Q3 • Record number of new poker sign-ups of 229,277 (2004: 181,726) • 32% of new poker sign-ups from outside the US (2004: 14%) • Cross-selling blackjack boosted net casino revenues to $82.3 million (2004: $10.6 million) Commenting on today's announcement, Richard Segal, Chief Executive, said: "The Group's strong performance in the final quarter reflected a record numberof poker sign-ups, a seasonal uplift in yield per player in our poker businessand the addition of blackjack on the 8th of October 2005. During the quarter,44% of active PartyPoker.com players also played blackjack, which had asubstantial and sustained impact on the profitability of the Group. "The success of blackjack has transformed our casino business and proved verypopular with a large number of our poker players. Our scale has again provedcommercially important. Through effective cross-selling to our large customerbase we are well on the way to creating the world's largest online casino. "PartyGaming's next major milestone will be the launch of the fully-integratedplatform and shared purse in the first half of 2006. We will also launch twonew games, one in the first half and another in the second half of 2006. By theend of 2006, we will up the ante again by launching a multi-lingual andmulti-currency offering. Marketing a wide range of quality games to anincreasingly international customer base is a core part of our strategy that webelieve will deliver attractive returns for our shareholders." Poker - Key Performance Indicators Three months to 31 December 2005 2004Active Player Days 13,022,466 9,323,344Daily average players 141,549 101,341Yield per Active Player Day $17.9 $19.1New real money sign-ups 229,277 181,726Unique active players during the period 817,200 480,339Unique active players in December 559,189 323,943Average daily revenue $2,540,230 $1,937,742 Twelve months to 31 December 2005 2004Active Player Days 47,403,613 28,216,430Daily average players 129,815 77,094Yield per Active Player Day $17.5 $19.1New real money sign-ups 839,317 596,565Unique active players during the period 1,340,661 742,398Unique active players in December 559,189 323,943Average daily revenue $2,274,943 $1,472,398 During the quarter, net poker revenues (excluding skins) were up by 31% comparedwith the previous year to $233.7 million and up by 17% compared with the thirdquarter. This growth reflected an increase in the number of player sign-ups andan improvement in player yield, as well as the dilutive effect caused by a largenumber of poker players also playing blackjack which, while increasing theirtotal spend with the Group, reduced their spend on poker. The Group continued to increase the number of new real money players playing onPartyPoker.com. The record 229,227 new players added during the quarter broughtthe total number of real money signups for the year to 839,317, comfortablyahead of our target of 800,000. In line with our strategy of diversifying ourbusiness geographically, more than 30% of poker sign-ups in the quarter camefrom outside the US. The strong performance in sign-ups contributed to a 40%year-on-year increase in active player days in the fourth quarter to a record13,022,466 (2004: 9,323,344). In line with seasonal trends, yield per active player day increased to $17.9versus $16.6 in the third quarter, again after the offset caused by a largenumber of poker players also playing blackjack. Average daily revenue in theperiod increased to $2.5 million (2004: $1.9 million), an all time high for aquarter since the launch of PartyPoker.com in August 2001. Casino - Key Performance Indicators Three months to 31 December 2005 2004Active Player Days 2,396,981 161,457Daily average players 26,054 1,755Yield per Active Player Day $34.3 $65.1New real money sign-ups 12,261 10,758Unique active players during the period 391,336 22,890Unique active players in December 207,391 12,745Average daily revenue $894,121 $114,177 Twelve months to 31 December 2005 2004Active Player Days 2,914,940 657,893Daily average players 7,986 1,798Yield per Active Player Day $40.7 $73.9New real money sign-ups 66,741 54,000Unique active players during the period 444,005 70,177Unique active players in December 207,391 12,745Average daily revenue $325,046 $132,754 Net casino revenues were $82.3 million in the fourth quarter, substantiallyahead of the $11.0 million achieved in the previous quarter. While the numberof sign-ups was consistent with previous quarters, the substantial improvementin performance of the casino business was the result of cross-selling blackjack,through the PartyPoker.com site, from the 8th of October 2005. This resulted ina near fifteen-fold increase in active player days in the quarter to 2.4 millionwith 44% of all active poker players in the period also playing blackjack.There was a corresponding and expected reduction in yield per active player dayto $34.3 versus $59.2 in the previous quarter, primarily driven by the loweraverage spend by players playing blackjack. Driven by the strong performance ofblackjack, daily net casino revenue reached an average of $0.9 million per daycompared with an average in the previous year of $0.1 million. Overall marketing expenditure increased in the quarter, but distributionexpenses for the whole of the second half are expected to represent a similarpercentage of revenue as in the first six months of 2005. Empire Litigation Update Since 21 November 2005, Empire Online Limited ("Empire") has commencedproceedings against the Group arising out of the transfer of PartyPoker playersto PartyGaming's new integrated platform. Such proceedings are likely to beprotracted and involve claims for substantial damages. Whilst an amicableresolution to this dispute would be preferable, PartyGaming will vigorouslydefend the proceedings. Although there is some uncertainty with any litigation,PartyGaming is confident of achieving a successful outcome. Current Trading Since the start of the new financial year, trading has remained strong and is inline with the Board's expectations. As anticipated, the level of activity onblackjack has fallen from the very high levels achieved in the first few weeksafter launch and, since the pre-close trading update, has stabilised at anaverage level of over $0.8 million gross revenue per day. The Group's preliminary announcement of results for the year ended 31 December2005 will be made on 28 February 2006. 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 27 January 2006 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 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 27 January 2006. To access the recording please dial one of the followingreplay telephone numbers: Replay no: +44 20 7031 4064 (available for 1 week) (UK)Replay passcode: 689970 US Replay no: +1 954 334 0342 (available for 1 week) (US)Replay passcode: 689970 All times are GMT. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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