2nd Feb 2006 07:01
888 Holdings plc02 February 2006 888 Holdings Public Limited Company ("888" or the "Company") Trading Update and Q4 KPIs 888, one of the world's most popular online gaming companies, today provides thefollowing trading update for the fourth quarter of 2005 and cumulative resultsfor the year ended 31 December 2005. Key financials for the three months ended 31 December 2005: •Net Gaming Revenue rose to US$77 million, an increase of 56% above Q4 2004. •Net Gaming Revenue from casino increased to US$41 million, an increase of 19% above Q4 2004. •Net Gaming Revenue from poker rose to US$36 million, an increase of 138% above Q4 2004. Key KPIs: •Number of active* members increased to 330,962, a 75% increase above Q4 2004. •Casino active members increased to 97,661, a 48% increase above Q4 2004. •Poker active members increased to 233,301, an 89% increase above Q4 2004. •Monthly poker rake (rake from ring games plus net tournament fees) in December 2005 was 108% higher than December 2004. •In Q4 2005, quarterly net gaming revenue per active casino member at $419 compared to $458 in Q3 2005 (a slight decline as a result of promotion efforts aimed at reviving dormant members). In poker we continue to experience strong performance with quarterly net gaming revenue per active member up 21% from $129 in Q3 2005 to $156 in Q4 2005. •As at 31 December 2005, 888 had 23.2 million registered member accounts out of which 5.5 million are real money registered member accounts, representing an increase in real money member accounts of 49% since 31 December 2004. Key cumulative financials for the 12 months ended 31 December 2005: •Net Gaming Revenue during year rose to US$271 million, an increase of 52% above 2004. •Net Gaming Revenue from casino during the year rose to US$161 million, an increase of 16% above 2004. •Net Gaming Revenue from poker during the year rose to US$110 million, an increase of 179% above 2004. Overall trading for the year has been in line with Board expectations. Trading Outlook Our new financial year has started well and trading in January 2006 has beenstrong in both the casino and poker businesses with a continued increase in newreal money member sign-ups, first time depositors and deposit levels. In January 2006, 888 launched the latest version of its Casino offering, version7.5, with new video-slot machines, new graphics and promotion features, that allenhance the members' playing experience. In addition, Pacific Poker was releasedin three new languages, German, Italian and Swedish. We introduced a new e-wallet focusing on Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Italy andFrance, thereby expanding further our geographical presence in non-US markets.888 plans to roll-out a further two new languages, a new Jackpot feature forPacific Poker and one additional language for the casino in the first quarter of2006. On 15 January 2006, 888 announced that it had signed a multi-million pound fiveyear deal with the World Snooker to become the new title sponsor of the WorldSnooker Championship, held at the legendary Crucible Theatre. This event willnow be known as the 888.com World Snooker Championship. As part of this 888 willalso be an associate sponsor of the Masters, Grand Prix and UK Championshipsnooker events. The 888.com World Snooker Championship will enjoy extensiveglobal exposure through full coverage of the event on the BBC in the UK,Euro-Sport in Europe and wide exposure across Southeast Asia and the MiddleEast. The Board is encouraged by the positive start to the new financial year and isconfident of the Company's prospects for 2006. The Company will announce preliminary results for the year ended 31 December2005 on 16th March 2006. * An active member refers to an individual member who had made a game-relatedbalance movement in a real money account in the relevant quarter. Contacts and enquiries 888John Anderson Chief Executive Officer +350 49800Aviad Kobrine Chief Financial Officer +350 49800 Bell PottingerAnn-Marie Wilkinson/Nick Lambert +44 (0)20 7861 3232 Notes to Editors 888.com is headquartered and licensed in Gibraltar with further offices inTel Aviv, Antigua and London. It has over 23 million registered member accountsin over 150 countries worldwide and play and customer support is available in upto 11 languages - 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In October 2005 888's shares were admitted to the main market of the LondonStock Exchange. 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 a betting exchange (for non US members only), otherskill games such as checkers, backgammon and arcade games (888.tv) as well asfree 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 have been at the forefront of moves to ensure that the industry is subjectto a 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. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
888.L