Final Results

888 Holdings plc 08 April 2008 Part 1 888 Holdings Public Limited Company ('888' or the 'Company') Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 December 2007 888, one of the world's most popular online gaming entertainment companies, announces its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2007. Financial Summary US$ million 2007 2006 % change Net Gaming Revenue Casino 118.1 88.8 33 Poker 80.8 68.2 18 Emerging Offerings 14.4 - - Total Net Gaming Revenue 213.41 157.0 36 Other Operating Income 3.6 - - Total Operating Income 216.91 157.0 38 Operating Expenses2 59.1 45.6 Research and Development Expenses 23.5 19.4 Selling and Marketing Expenses 70.9 51.0 Administrative Expenses 3,4 17.9 24.6 EBITDA 3,4 45.5 16.4 177 Finance Income and Exchange Gains 6.1 9.6 Depreciation and Amortisation (5.8) (3.8) Profit Before Tax from Continuing Operations 4 45.8 22.2 106 Basic EPS4 (cents) 12.6 5.7 121 Financial Highlights • Profit before tax4 from continuing operations up 106% to $46m (2006: $22m) • EBITDA3,4 up 177% to $46m (2006: $16m) • Net Gaming Revenue ('NGR') up 36% to US$213m (2006:US$157m), Total Operating Income up 38% to US$217m (2006: US$157m) • Casino NGR up 33% to $118m (2006: $89m) • Poker NGR up 18% to $81m (2006: $68m) • EBITDA3,4 margin up to 21% (2006: 10%) • Basic EPS4 up 121% to 12.6 cents (2006: 5.7 cents) • Liquid resources US$104m (2006: US$114m) • Final dividend 5.0 cents, above stated dividend policy • Following a very strong Quarter 4 last year, 2008 started well with further growth and the group is confident about our prospects for 2008 1 Rounded 2 Excluding depreciation of US$4.2 million (2006: US$3.8 million) and amortisation of US$1.6 million (2006: US$ nil) 3 Excluding exchange gain of US$1.1 million (2006: US$4.7 million) 4 Excluding share benefit charges of US$7.8 million (2006: US$8.8 million) Operational Highlights • Sports betting platform, 888sport, launched in March 2008 • New Bingo brand, 888Ladies, launched in February 2008 • First strategic partnerships signed and launched - Rileys Snooker Halls - UK - Tower Torneos - Latin America - LuckyAce - Europe • First ever acquisition completed - the Bingo business of Globalcom Limited - successfully completed and integrated into 888's umbrella offering • Introduction of Backgammon • Quarterly Casino and Poker active customers increased by 11% to 209k (Q4 2006: 189k) Commenting, Gigi Levy, CEO of 888 said: '2007 was a year of transformation for 888, in which we had to restructure our business following the enactment in the United States of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act in October 2006. I am very pleased to report that we have now successfully completed the restructuring and repositioning of the business and have delivered record results for the year, both in terms of revenue and profit. This demonstrates the resilience of our business, the strength of our team and the continued attractiveness of our business model. With many strategic initiatives now underway, we see a bright future for the business.' - ends - An audio replay of the presentation to analysts will be available from the investor relations section of 888's website (http://www.888holdingsplc.com) from late afternoon today. Contacts and enquiries 888 Gigi Levy Chief Executive Officer +350 49800 Aviad Kobrine Chief Financial Officer +350 49800 Bell Pottinger Corporate & Financial Ann-Marie Wilkinson/Nick Lambert/Andrew Benbow +44 (0) 20 7861 3232 Chairman's Statement On behalf of the Board of 888 Holdings plc, I am pleased to present the financial results for the year ended 31 December 2007. This was our first full year of operating without our former largest market, the US. We have successfully re-focused our operations into other markets with fantastic results. Our success is manifested by our recent return to the FTSE250 and by industry accolades such as 'Best Betting and Gaming Company' at the Leisure Report Awards 2007, 'Casino of the Year' and 'Best Land - Links Partnership' at the eGaming Awards 2007 as well as 'Casino of the Year' at the Gambling Online Awards 2007. Our first ever acquisition was completed in May with the purchase of the online Bingo business of Globalcom Ltd., and has proven to be a great success with excellent financial results following its integration into 888's offering umbrella. The year was marked as a year of innovation and initiatives - we have expanded our business model by offering our full service on a 'white label' basis to selected business partners as demonstrated by our strategic alliances with Rileys Poker in the UK and Tower Torneos in Latin America, obtained an online sportsbetting licence in Italy, introduced a targeted local offering in Asia through Live Dealer and released our first ever branded Video Slot Machines to name a few. I would like to thank all 888 employees, our management and our customers for making 2007 an outstanding year. Financial Results 2007 was a phenomenal year for us. NGR increased 36% to $213 million (2006: $157 million) with Total Operating Income increase of 38% to $217 million (2006: $157 million) driven by turnover growth from both our core Casino and Poker products and from the introduction of new products, particularly Bingo. Profit Before Tax * showed remarkable growth and increased 106% to $46 million (2006: $22 million). Dividend Given our strong financial results, in addition to our interim dividend of 1.8 cents per share paid in October 2007, the Board has recommended a final dividend of 5.0 cents per share. Our Values During 2007 we outlined and implemented our core values that represent the philosophy by which we operate. We take pride in our ability to consistently maintain them. Our values were implemented across all parts of the organization, and comprise excellence, innovation, caring, customer centricity, leading and collaboration. Responsible gaming Responsible gaming is a fundamental pillar of our business. Our aim is to ensure our services are used responsibly, and are fair and transparent. We work hard to raise awareness through education and to provide our staff with first rate tools for ensuring a responsible gaming environment. In 2007, we were awarded for the first time 'Gamcare' certification, recognizing 888's dedication to customer protection. We also launched our responsible gaming website (www.888responsible.com) where we offer comprehensive and easily accessible information about responsible gaming practices, dealing with problem gambling, preventing underage gambling and more. Outlook Building on a great 2007, we have introduced our new Bingo brand, 888ladies, and launched 888sport, our Sportsbook offering. Quarter 1 of 2008 started well across our business, particularly in our new Bingo and Sportsbook offering. Your Board believes we are well positioned to develop and grow our business in this exciting and expanding space for the foreseeable future. Richard Kilsby Chairman * Excluding share benefit charges of US$7.8 million (2006: US$8.8 million). Continuing operations. Chief Executive's Review 2007 was a year of transformation for 888, in which we had to restructure the business following the enactment in the United States of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act ('UIGEA') in October 2006, which resulted in us losing 55% of our revenues almost overnight. I am very pleased to report that we have now successfully completed the restructuring and repositioning of the business and have delivered very strong results for the year, both in terms of revenue and profit. We have emerged a better company, clearer in our strategy, more diverse and complete in our offering, with a stronger presence in more markets and much greater local, ' in-country' focus. We have also restructured our senior operational management team, with a mix of experienced managers from within the Group and seasoned executives recruited from other industries, enabling us to innovate where the industry has been slow to change in recent years. The financial results speak for themselves: the 106% Profit Before Tax* growth to $46 million and 38%. Total Operating Income growth to $217 million demonstrate the resilience of our business, the strength of our team and the continued attractiveness of our business model. With basic earnings per share* of 12.6 cents and strong 2007 we have fully recovered from the effects of UIGEA. With various strategic initiatives now underway, we see a bright future for the business. These are excellent results and given our strong financial performance, we will be paying a final dividend of 5.0 cents per share, in addition to the interim dividend of 1.8 cents per share paid in October 2007. Delivering on our strategy Our success in 2007 was based on a clear strategy and business focus coupled with great execution. Our strategy was founded on the same principles that had made us successful in previous years but building on these core principles in order to incorporate several new directions allowing us to accelerate growth. We continued focusing on acquiring and retaining valuable customers by delivering a compelling, localised, innovative, unique and entertaining customer experience while embarking on new initiatives. These initiatives included strategic partnerships, the use of new and innovative marketing channels, the integration of third party games, the introduction of enhanced communication and entertainment features and a revolutionary gaming environment in which customers can access all games from a single location. 2007 was a phenomenal year in terms of the development of our offering. We introduced an 'industry-first' with our first fully-integrated gaming environment, which allows access to all of our games from one location. This approach clearly enhanced revenues from customers who were able, for the first time, to play any game they wanted without limitation and enabled us to better cross-sell and up-sell to our customers. The success of this approach is now proven and we will continue to provide an integrated environment to more customers and add more games into this environment. Another significant development effort centred on opening our platform to easy integration with games from other providers. Whilst we will continue developing our own core games and technological infrastructure, we will carefully select 'best-of-breed' partners to provide us with additional games, particularly those with a local flavour, which will assist us in penetrating local markets. The first of these games is being introduced and we plan to leverage this infrastructure investment and integrate various additional games in the coming years, with a number already in the pipeline for 2008. This capability will enable us to leverage the Internet's 'long tail' phenomena as we have no 'real estate' costs in putting more games into our software client. The introduction of additional games, even if they will only be played by a small percentage of our customers will have a positive return on investment. One of the key focuses of our development effort was the integration of a Sport betting platform into our offering. This process was successfully completed towards the end of the year and the service was recently launched. We have also introduced a live-dealer solution with our Asian partner, Entertasia, which will increase our presence in the Asian market. Early 2008 saw the introduction of 888ladies which is positioned to appeal to a whole new market for the Group. With these new products we now have a strong and complete portfolio, with our business based on the four core pillars of Casino, Poker, Sports betting and Bingo together with supplementary Backgammon and Live-Dealer products. * Excluding share benefit charges of $7.8 million (2006: $8.8 million). Continuing operations. During the year we managed to upgrade and improve all of our existing platforms, introducing new Casino and Poker versions with additional games, innovative features and a better overall interactive customer experience. One such enhancement was the introduction of our first-ever branded game - the 'Blond Legend' video Slot which was an immediate success, and another was our innovative Poker client allowing users to choose a 3D or 2D view with a rotating table and various additional features. Finally, given the focus on geographic expansion, we succeeded in completing the translation and localisation of all our Casino games into the 14 languages we currently support on top of expanding our language proposition with two brand new languages. This major effort resulted in an immediate increase in revenues in markets which previously were not supported by a fully localised product. As in previous years, we were proud to see our innovative, market-leading offering being selected for various awards, including the prestigious 'Casino of the Year' award both in the eGaming and the Online Gambling Awards. From a marketing perspective, 2007 was focused on additional brand building, innovative marketing tools, loyalty increasing programmes and a significant drive on local and integrated marketing efforts. Overall we had a very good year in which we managed to grow our business whilst keeping marketing spend at 33% of NGR. In terms of brand building, we have invested in re-launching the 888 brand in conjunction with our 'Enjoy the Game' tagline across all media channels and markets. This new campaign delivered our best ever brand awareness as reflected in surveys conducted in the UK and Spain. This campaign was a milestone in our brand building efforts. For the first time ever, in 2007 we invested in web 2.0 marketing channels, including viral campaigns based on a combination of professionally crafted and user generated content. We have also integrated various additional innovative online marketing tools in various areas, especially in the search engine domain, which allowed us to keep our marketing costs within the challenging budget that had been set. Customer Relationship Management ('CRM') has always been one of our core competencies with our industry leading service levels and the personal service we are known to provide to our customers. 2007 saw further enhancements with the publication of the first two issues of our premium customer magazine 'Eight', our improved loyalty programme and implementation of improved communication and promotional tools. Coupled with our world-famous VIP programme, our CRM approach has ensured a very successful 2007 in terms of customers' life time value and loyalty. Our marketing success in 2007 relied fully on a localised and integrated approach. We implemented better co-ordination across the Group and comprehensive monitoring of our activities in every market. We signed more local TV deals across Europe, and benefited from extensive international coverage of our successful sponsorships of the World Snooker Championship and Sevilla Football Club. The outcome of these localisation efforts is apparent in our numbers, which show far better geographical diversification, with our European market increasing to 42% of our business in 2007 compared to 36% in 2006. We are most satisfied with our growth across various markets and will continue investing in localised integrated marketing efforts in 2008 as we continue to penetrate yet more new markets. The most significant strategic move in the year was our decision to expand our pure business-to-consumer business model with a combined approach which includes working with carefully selected strategic business-to-business partners. Under the 'Powered by 888' endorsement, we have launched a new line of business as a service provider to virtual operators. We launched three new partnerships in 2007 with Riley's in the UK, Tower Torneos in Latin America and LuckyAce in Europe. More such partnerships will follow with several already in the pipeline. This new area of our business received a significant boost with our acquisition of the Bingo assets of Globalcom in May 2007. This transaction positioned 888 at the forefront of online Bingo service providers, serving leading business partners such as Cashcade, operating Foxy Bingo, Bingo Scotland and a number of other well-known brands. We have already secured additional Bingo deals, including with WinkBingo, a newly launched Bingo network. While the core of our business remains in the business-to-consumer area, this new approach enables us to better leverage our investments and generate additional revenues and profit streams from market segments where penetration would require significant additional effort and marketing spend. This activity has already contributed to our bottom line in 2007 and is expected to grow in importance in the coming years as we announce new deals. Our success resulted in the 'Best Land-Links Partnership' award in the eGaming awards is a clear indication of the innovative nature of our approach in this area. During 2007 we successfully integrated our acquired Bingo assets which now work as a seamless part of our business. On top of this successful integration, we have managed to accelerate the growth of the Bingo business which grew phenomenally throughout the year. This now proven ability to acquire value-enhancing assets and integrate them into our business underlines the validity of our M&A approach and therefore we will continue to look for the right opportunities to supplement our strong organic growth. In addition to our strong financial results, our overall performance was acknowledged in our securing, for the first time, the 'Best Betting and Gambling Company' award in the 2007 Leisure Report awards. Finally, we continue to be indebted to our fantastic team of employees who have succeeded in delivering the outstanding 2007 results. We have a phenomenal team at all levels, with extremely talented individuals who are led by a world-class management team. To maintain this team and ensure their ongoing motivation we continue to strive to be the employer of choice. These efforts have resulted in successful new recruits into the Group. Our employees will remain a key part of our focus in the years to come. Regulation While the regulatory landscape remains unstable in some regions, 2007 saw some positive developments. In Europe, the European Court of Justice's ruling in the Placanica case restated the importance of EU regulations to our industry. This decision, together with the recent infringement actions and position letters from the European Commission, marks a very positive development enabling EU licensed operators, such as 888, to provide their services throughout the European Union. Moreover, we have seen a trend throughout the year of additional European jurisdictions embarking on a path to license and regulate online gaming, a route which we clearly welcome. Outside of Europe we have seen initial signs of positive regulation both in Asia Pacific and Latin America, where newly introduced regulations in some jurisdictions could allow us to benefit from working in a locally licensed environment. As previously stated, we see these to be very positive developments as we continue to pursue a clear regulatory framework for all jurisdictions in which we operate. We will continue to monitor the regulatory landscape and to look for opportunities to operate in regulated markets. As stated in our announcement dated 5th June 2007, we have initiated preliminary discussions with the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York relating to our activity in the US prior to the signing of the UIGEA. It is too early to assess any particular outcome of these discussions. Responsible gaming 2007 was also a turning point in our approach to responsible gaming. Whilst 888 has always been a leader in supporting the prevention of problem and underage gambling we recruited a dedicated executive to handle these important issues. We have, as a result, introduced both enhanced tools and policies giving us an even tighter control on problem and underage gamblers. These efforts were acknowledged by Gamcare who awarded us their responsible gambling certificate. Recently, our educational efforts developed even further with the introduction of www.888responsible.com, a website dedicated for providing access to tools which identify and deal with problem gambling. This industry-first educational effort and our additional activities in the area mark our continued commitment to prevent problem and underage gambling. Our 2008 focus 2008 will see the continued execution of our strategy with accelerated innovation facilitated by the investment made in our infrastructure in 2007. Now that we have delivered all of the required products, developed integration capabilities and white labelling capability together with a far deeper localised offering, we can focus on the monetisation of these assets. In terms of our offering, our plans include the introduction of several new games, with a strong focus on localised games which will continue to support our push into new markets. We will continue to develop our relationships with third party games providers to ensure that we will not miss any exciting, potential ' hit' games. We will also introduce various new innovative features such as increased personalisation, tournaments around Casino games and more content and entertainment across our product portfolio. From a marketing perspective, 2008 will see further investment in our brand and the use of additional innovative marketing channels. We will also introduce some major events such as the recently launched $3 million World Poker Crown Poker tournament and a major event planned for the 8 August 2008 - the '888' date! On the business-to-business front, we aim to sign and launch more strategic partnership deals as a means to accelerate our growth. Outlook 2008 has started well, especially with our recently introduced female-oriented Bingo proposition, 888ladies. This innovative website, which already boasts thousands of active customers daily, is performing above our expectations. The recent launch of our Sports betting proposition, 888sport, is already generating revenues and - coupled with several more planned product launches, we expect our offering to continue being one of the main growth drivers of our business. With our current strategic partnerships performing well, we are progressing with additional potential partners and we expect at least one new partnership to be launched in 2008. Given the positive start to 2008, the successful launch of 888ladies and 888sport, our strategic partnership deals, current trading and our clear business strategy and focus, we are confident in delivering future growth during 2008. Gigi Levy Chief Executive Officer Enhanced Business Review Introduction 888 Holdings plc is one of the world's most popular online gaming entertainment companies. 888 owns and operates various world renowned websites, including www.888.com, www.Casino-on-Net.com, www.pacificpoker.com, www.888ladies.com and www.888sport.com. In 2007, 888 continued to follow its strategy of expanding and diversifying its business on the basis of this strong foundation. During the year, 888 acquired the business and assets of a market leading Bingo network operator, it added the in-house developed Backgammon to its offering and an online Sportsbook licensed in Italy. Recent additions include the global rollout of an international Sportsbook offering in six European countries. In a key strategic move, 888 has also expanded its business model, leveraging its existing assets and brand reputation, by licensing its software and unique services to carefully selected 'white label' partners who allow 888 to penetrate new markets. 888 is indeed the home of online gaming entertainment. 2007 was 888's first full year without a contribution from the US market, after the cessation of its operations in that market in October 2006. It was a year characterised by rapid growth, with a 38% increase in Total Operating Income and a 106% increase in Profit Before Tax*, as the Group refocused its activities on non-US markets by localising its product offerings and releasing more games in more languages than ever before. The addition of Casino games into the Poker client has dramatically increased the revenue stream from 888's traditional core product, and has signalled continued progress towards the ultimate goal of providing all of its offerings through a single, unified client. In addition, 888's offering benefited from the addition of Backgammon to its suite of games, and also enhanced the appeal of existing games by adding both contemporary and themed games such as the sports themed 'rough rugby' and Marilyn Monroe inspired 'Blond Legend' Video Slots. The immediate success of 888's new white label strategy was demonstrated by the partnerships developed with Tower Torneos in Latin America, Rileys Poker in the UK, and Lucky Ace in Europe. 888's Italian customers have enjoyed the launch of a dedicated online Sportsbook proposition which has not only provided invaluable experience from 888's first foray into this product type but also, through its licensing by the Italian Government, further validated 888's regulatory and licensing credentials. * Excluding share benefit charges of US$7.8 million (2006: US$8.8 million). Continuing operations. In addition to its organic growth and in-house development, 888 completed its first ever acquisition through the acquisition of the assets comprising the online Bingo business of Globalcom Ltd. in May 2007. This business has now been successfully integrated into 888's existing operations. At the end of 2007, 888 entered into a deal with Blue Square which allows the Group to offer a sportsbetting product to all of its customers in early 2008. This deal completes the Group's aim to provide a 'one stop' betting and gaming proposition to its customers. As an added benefit, 888 has moved closer towards its goal of providing a full multi-currency offering. The Bingo acquisition and the partnership with Blue Square represent new, previously unexplored growth avenues. The addition of the Bingo business is the first time 888 has opted for growth by acquisition, and demonstrates its ability to identify, execute and integrate profitable external opportunities. 2007 was 888's tenth anniversary and, as in previous years, 888's excellence and market leading position was acknowledged by third parties. 888 was recently awarded 'Best Betting and Gaming Company' at the Leisure Report Awards 2007, ' Casino of the Year' and 'Best Land - Links Partnership' at the eGaming Awards 2007 as well as 'Casino of the Year' at the Gambling Online Awards 2007. Review of Financial Results Financial Summary Year ended Year ended 31 % change 31 December December 2007 2006 $ $ million % million Net Gaming Revenue Casino 118.1 88.8 33 Poker 80.8 68.2 18 Emerging Offerings 14.4 - - Total Net Gaming Revenue 213.41 157.0 36 Other Operating Income 3.6 - - Total Operating Income 216.91 157.0 38 Operating Expenses2 59.1 45.6 Research and Development 23.5 19.4 Expenses Selling and Marketing 70.9 51.0 Expenses Administrative Expenses 3 17.9 24.6 EBITDA 3,4 45.5 16.4 177 Finance Income and 6.1 9.6 Exchange Gains Depreciation and Amortisation (5.8) (3.8) Profit Before Tax from 45.8 22.2 106 Continuing Operations 4 1 Rounded 2 Excluding depreciation of US$4.2 million (2006: US$3.8 million) and amortisation of US$1.6 million (2006: US$ nil) 3 Excluding exchange gain of US$1.1 million (2006: US$4.7 million) 4 Excluding share benefit charges of US$7.8 million (2006: US$8.8 million). Financial Results Total Operating Income and NGR The Group achieved strong financial results in 2007 with NGR increasing by 36% to $213.4 million (2006: $157.0 million), Total Operating Income increasing by 38% to $216.9 million (2006: $157.0 million), EBITDA* increasing by 177% to $45.5 million (2006: $16.4 million) and Profit Before Tax* from continuing operations increasing 106% to $45.8 million (2006: $22.2 million). NGR increased strongly in both Casino and Poker, and also from the introduction of new products ('Emerging Offerings'). These products, particularly the newly acquired Bingo business (since 17 May 2007), generated $14.4 million NGR in 2007. In 2007, the Group introduced, for the first time, the option for customers to transact in their local currency, and as a result, other operating income has been generated representing fees from processing customers' cross-currency deposits and withdrawals effectively reducing costs associated with payment service providers. Geographical segmentation As the table below illustrates, in 2007, Europe (excluding the UK) showed dramatic growth of 58%, with strong growth from both Poker and Casino, followed by the UK, which grew by 32%. The Rest of the World, mostly attributable to the Asia Pacific region, also grew rapidly by 35% compared to 2006. Growth in the Americas (excluding the USA) was modest. As a result of the strong revenue growth during the year in Europe (excluding the UK), this region now represents 42% of 888's total operating income compared to 36% in 2006. Total operating income by geographical market: Year ended Year ended 2007 Growth 31 December 31 December 2007 2006 Total operating income $million % share $million % share % UK 93.0 43 70.6 45 32 Europe (excl. UK) 90.1 42 57.1 36 58 Americas (excluding USA) 18.0 8 17.6 11 2 Rest of World 15.9 7 11.8 8 35 Total 216.9* 100 157.0* 100 38 * Rounded Casino The Casino business was one of the main drivers for the Group's strong revenue growth in 2007, with a NGR increase of 33% to $118.1 million (2006: $88.8 million). The continued localisation of the Casino software client by providing the offering in additional languages and the introduction of the Casino games into the Poker client was an instant success, and was the source of much of this growth. This growth demonstrates the high potential for cross-selling services in a unified offering. * Excluding share benefit charges of US$7.8 million (2006: US$8.8 million). Casino growth was driven predominantly by the popularity of 888's ever expanding selection of Video slot machines. Video slot bet levels increased year on year by a staggering 108%. It is expected that this trend will continue well into 2008 and is anticipated to be boosted by the planned integration of a wide variety of new third party games. The continued popularity of Roulette and Blackjack supported continued growth that has resulted in an improvement to overall house edge on Casino games; House edge increased from 2.9% in 2006 to 3.1% in 2007. The Group will continue to encourage customers to migrate towards its higher margin games. Poker The Poker business also delivered strong growth in 2007 with NGR increase of 18% to $80.8 million (2006: $68.2 million). This growth was driven mainly by the popular Texas Hold'em and Omaha ring games which appeal to a broad spectrum of customers. The attraction of ring games resulted in a 25% growth in bet levels compared to 2006. The Group's tournaments benefited from the introduction in June of 're-buy' and 'add-on' functionality. Poker growth was also driven by the introduction of the white label business model - the launch of Rileys Poker and the Tower Torneos offering. For consistency, NGR from Poker excludes NGR generated by customers playing Casino games from the Poker platform, which increased overall revenue and helped retain customers for longer. Emerging offerings Emerging Offerings contributed $14.4 million of NGR during the year, representing 6.8% of total NGR. This revenue is primarily generated by the Bingo business (acquired in May 2007), but also by the newly introduced Backgammon offering (April 2007). It is expected that these new games will generate higher NGR in 2008. The Group's Bingo business generates royalty revenue both from its position as a software licensor and network provider to a number of popular household name brands such as www.thinkbingo.com and www.foxybingo.com, and also NGR from customers playing on the Group's own websites including www.888ladies.com and www.bingoballroom.com. Over the short time that the Backgammon has been available, its main benefit has been as a retention tool and an expansion to the range of entertainment products on offer, enabling the Group to service a dedicated market segment, allowing casual customers the opportunity to test their skills. Expenses Effective cost control during the year has resulted in slower expense growth than revenue growth, with expenses* increasing by only 22% compared to 38% total operating income growth. Salaries and benefits, representing the largest component of operating expenses, increased by 30% to $31.0 million (2006: $23.8 million). The additional headcount related to the Bingo business and the expansion of the Group's regional focus, were a major source of this increase. Modest salary increase and headcount increases across the business contributed the remainder. The second largest cost item in operating expenses is commissions paid to Payment Service Providers, which totalled $13.4 million (2006: $9.1 million) representing 6.3% of NGR (2006: 5.8%). When stripping out Emerging Offerings, this ratio stands, in 2007, at a comparable 6.0%. The Group places strong emphasis on risk management procedures, which resulted in a decrease in its chargeback ratio to 1.3% of NGR in 2007 (2006: 1.6%). Intangible assets from the Bingo acquisition were amortised during the year, which contributed an additional non-cash expense of $1.6 million (2006: nil) to operating expenses. The continued investment in the Group's products aimed at expanding the range and appeal of its offering has resulted in an increase in research and development expenses in 2007 by 21% to $23.5 million (2006: $19.4 million). This increase directly relates to headcount expansion and salary increase in order to attract and retain a highly skilled work-force, as the Group develops most its proprietary software internally. * Expenses include operating expenses (excluding share benefit charges), research and development, selling and marketing and administrative expenses Marketing expenses during the year reached $70.9 million (2006: $51.0 million), representing a stable rate of 33% of NGR, demonstrating sustained marketing efficiency. In 2007, the Group focused on a rapid expansion of its affiliate channels. This expansion enabled cost control per new customer acquisition and a means of quickly penetrating new markets. Attracting valuable new customers at the right cost is a key driver of 888's business profitability. In 2007 the Group continued to be focused on attracting, and retaining, customers from selected segments which are most profitable and optimising the recruitment channel to cost. During the year 888's marketing operations recruited more than 260,000 new Casino and Poker First Time Depositors ('FTD's') from more than a million new real money registrations with an average Cost Per Acquisition ('CPA ') in 2007 of $225 (2006: $183)*. Administrative expenses** decreased by 15% to $16.9 million (2006: $19.8 million), mainly driven by the departure of the former Chief Executive Officer which triggered a non-recurring payment of $2.75 million. Professional fees also decreased as post-UIGEA the Group looked to balance the change in costs of this nature. Share benefit charges As part of 888's commitment to invest in human capital, eligible management and employees received in the past equity awards under the 888 All Employee Share Plan ('Share Plan'). In 2007, as in 2006, the Group continued to award shares and options to employees under the terms of the Share Plan. The non-cash charge for 2007 was $7.8 million (2006: $8.8 million), comprising a $1.8 million charge relating to grants in the current year (2006: $2.5 million) and $6.0 million relating to grants made in the past. Finance Income With the Group continuing to generate and retain cash surpluses throughout the year, net interest income remained stable at $5.0 million (2006: $4.9 million). Profit and Earnings per share As a result of strong revenue growth, stable marketing to turnover ratio, maintaining strong cost control and better management of resources, Profit Before Tax** increased dramatically by 106% to $45.8 million (2006: $22.2 million). Profit Before Tax** from continuing operations delivered a margin of 21% (2006: 14%), further testament to the Group's strong operational gearing throughout the year, a remarkable achievement given the changes imposed by discontinuing its offering in the US. While the Group did not operate in the US in 2007, the small loss from discontinued operations related to legal fees incurred in connection with its past activities. Basic Earnings per share more than doubled at 12.6c in 2007 (2006: 5.6c). Dividend The Group's stated policy is that it anticipates adopting an annual dividend payment ratio of approximately 50% of profit, but the policy would reflect long term earnings and cash flow potential of the Group. On 31 October 2007, the Company paid an interim dividend of 1.8 cents per share totalling $6.1 million (2006 interim dividend totalling $23.1 million) (in 2006, the dividend included earnings from discontinued operations). Given the strong financial performance in 2007, the Board recommends a final dividend of 5.0 cents per share. Cash flow The Group's strong profitability during the year was matched by strong cash generation with cash generated from operating activities reaching $46.2 million. During 2007, the Group made cash payments of $20.0 million in respect of investing activities (2006: $3.6 million), primarily relating to the Bingo acquisition. In addition, the Group returned $36.2 million (2006: $28.7 million) in dividends to its shareholders consistent with its dividend policy. The Group's cash position as at 31 December 2007 remained strong at $104.3 million (31 December 2006: $114.4 million). This is a positive position given that the Group has no debt. * Excluding customers recruited on a revenue share basis ** 2007 excluding Share benefit charges of $7.8 million (2006: $8.8 million) Balance Sheet The Group's balance sheet remains strong, as it has no debt, but retains ample liquid resources, including the ability to repay all customers' balances on demand at any time. As a result of the Bingo acquisition 888 recognised intangible assets and goodwill totalling $40.7 million after the amortisation of intangibles of $1.5 million in the year. Goodwill, valued at $37.9 million (2006: $nil million), was not impaired at 31 December 2007 as per a review performed by the Board. Cash and cash equivalents as at 31 December 2007 remained strong at $104.3 million (31 December 2006: $114.4 million). The slight decrease in the cash position during the year, despite strong cash inflows from operations of $49.3 million, is a result of the consideration paid in respect of the Bingo acquisition of $17.1 million, and payment of dividends of $36.2 million (2006: $28.7 million) to shareholders. Trade receivables have increased to $13.4 million (2006: $6.2 million), the increase resulting from higher payment processing activity during the year, which peaked towards the end of the year. Most balances were fully settled immediately after the start of 2008. Deferred consideration of $25.1 million payable in respect of the Bingo acquisition is the main reason for the increase in trade and other payables by $35.1 million to $63.0 million (2006: $27.9 million). Balances owed to customers increased by 17% to $26.4 million (2006: $22.7 million) representing growth in business volume, in part being due to the new Bingo activity. 888's Strategy 888's goal is to create the largest community of people who play online for money and grow its annual revenue and profit numbers to a level greater than when its US business closed in October 2006. To achieve this goal, 888 must give its customers the ultimate customer experience whilst maintaining focus on acquiring and retaining customers by delivering a compelling, localised, innovative and unique offering. Given its 2007 success, 888 remains committed to its strategy, the main cornerstones of which are: • Thinking Global while Acting Local • Enhanced and Innovative Offering • State of the Art Integrated Marketing • Customer Intimacy • Market Leading Customer Service • Focused, Efficient and Effective Organization • Employer of Choice Thinking Global while Acting Local: Providing the right customer experience must have a local flavour. The withdrawal from the US market meant that 888's principle of 'thinking global while acting local' became more important than ever. Aiming to penetrate new markets simultaneously, 888 had to quickly enhance its local focus. In 2007, 888 achieved a greater regional focus and localisation than ever before. All of 888's Casino games were provided in 14 languages with full customer support. The payment system backbone was also upgraded to allow multi-currency deposits and withdrawals. These features succeeded in generating additional revenues immediately. 888 will continue to be focused on improving localisation in 2008 and beyond, by enhancing its offering with even more local games. Enhanced and Innovative Offering: Offering a full range of entertainment options to customers. In 2007, 888 launched its acquired Bingo and in-house proprietary Backgammon offerings, added additional video Slot machines and upgraded the Poker and Casino versions. The 'one-stop shop' unified offering was introduced enabling customers to play any game they want with easy access from one platform. In Quarter 1 of 2008, the sports betting offering was introduced, which completes the desired range of offerings. 888 aims to add more content, information and community tools to its offering, and, through partnerships with alternative platform owners, to spread this offering beyond internet boundaries into hotels, airplanes and onto mobile telephones. State of the Art Integrated Marketing: Creating an integrated marketing approach between channels and across the company. 2007 saw 888 continue its extensive investment in its brand. The 'enjoy the game ' tagline was introduced to the 888 brand, and reached phenomenal levels of brand recognition in both the UK and Spain. Additional 888 brands were launched such as '888ladies' and '888sport'. As part of the drive towards both increasing localisation and a more fully integrated marketing approach, 888 has identified local consultants in selected key markets for better coordination and monitoring of its activities in these markets. 888 signed and launched initial strategic partnerships with Rileys and Tower Torneos which allow it greater penetration to distinct local markets. 888 plans to sign further similar partnership deals in 2008. Customer Intimacy: Using knowledge about Customers to optimise their customer experience while prioritising resource allocation. 888 has continued its focus on studying its customers' online behaviour more closely, in order to improve its knowledge of their betting habits and preferences. From direct contact with customers, by market research of their behaviour and through a detailed analysis of trends using its in-house data warehouse, 888 has continued to refine how best to engage, thrill and retain its customers. Market Leading Customer Service: Providing the industry's best customer service. The drive towards increased penetration into new markets was coupled with the need to expand customer support to non-English languages. As part of these significant changes, 888 achieved its best ever results in its customer satisfaction surveys. Focused, Efficient and Effective Organization: Remaining competitive by having an efficiently run operation maintaining its focus on 888's particular plans and goals. 2007 saw 888 achieve a 38% increase in revenue with only a 9% increase in year-end headcount. In 2008, 888 will continue with strong cost control to ensure high profitability levels are maintained and further improved. Employer of Choice: Aiming to be the employer of choice. 888's most important asset is its human capital. 888 has a skilled, committed work force who have remained with the Group since the early days and these have been joined by highly talented employees who have been recruited during the last year. It would not have been possible to achieve the phenomenal results in 2007 without the enormous efforts of these employees. 888 aims to retain its employees, ensure their motivation and to attract further leading talent to secure future success by continuing to be the employer of choice in the market. 2007 Business developments Marketing and CRM 2007 was a busy and highly successful year for 888's industry leading marketing activities. The marketing function was restructured under four key work-streams: acquisition, retention, branding and white label partnerships. This has enabled solid performance of the business in terms of acquisition and retention, in addition to allowing significant focus on the three priority areas: • Branding and integrated marketing • Customer Relationship Management • Strategic partnerships / White labels Branding For a number of years, the Group has enjoyed the highest level of brand awareness in the sector in its key markets. '888' has always been associated with reliability, trust and leading customer service, all of which are important attributes for the success of the business. In 2007, the Group started to build on this awareness with a strong, differentiated and more emotionally persuasive brand positioning: www.888.com 'Enjoy the game'. During 2007, the Group rolled out its first ever TV campaign supported by press and signage across the UK and in a number of other territories. By the end of 2007 the brand saw significant improvement in key brand attributes. The clear, focused brand positioning also enabled more integrated marketing. In 2007, there was considerable focus behind fully integrated marketing campaigns; leveraging consistent and complementary messages across all marketing channels. This resulted in communication with a real impact, which attracted more first time depositors and reinforced retention activities. Customer Relationship Management As the Group evolves, it continues to recognise the significance of a well resourced Customer Relationship Management department. As such, 888 has continued to invest substantially in both financial and human resource terms in the CRM department in 2007. The CRM team is tasked with both creating loyalty and augmenting expenditure by ensuring that customers both play and stay with the Group for as long as they continue to enjoy the game: playing more games, more often, and for more time. This customer loyalty is generated via two departments, one focusing on the Group's mass market customer base and the other concentrating on VIP customers. The CRM team continuously seeks to innovate the range of promotions, bonuses and communication channels, whilst segmentation methods ensure that the relevant message reaches the right customer at the most opportune time. An excellent example of this approach is the 888 customer magazine 'Eight' delivered to customers in the UK. This magazine is a tool seeking to, reinforce loyalty and, ultimately, spend ratios. The VIP department ensures that the Group builds a real one-on-one personal relationship with VIPs so that 888 remains their online gaming provider of choice. This approach has ensured a very successful 2007 in terms of customer lifespan and their playing revenues with the Group. These customer relationships have been strengthened by the Group's commitment to localisation. In 2008, with the introduction of additional core products, together with sophisticated new communication and loyalty tools, the CRM team will be able to even better segment and communicate with its customer base to ensure effective cross-selling and up-selling of the Group's enhanced portfolio of products. Strategic Alliances 2007 was the year in which the Group became a 'white label' provider. Under the 'Powered by 888' endorsement, the Group launched a new line of business as a service provider to third parties with their particular skill sets and target audiences. 888 initially entered into three partnerships: Rileys Poker: Rileys, famous for their chain of snooker halls, sought to refocus their business behind in-hall Poker tournaments. 888 created a distinctive proposition for the Poker community enjoying a unique environment integrating both the online and offline version of Rileys Poker. This partnership was acknowledged by the industry when 888 received the 2007 ' Land-Links Partnership of the Year' Award at the eGaming Awards. Tower Torneos: Tower Torneos ('TT'), are already an established Casino operator in Latin America with an online Poker room. 888 worked with TT to provide an improved online offering, and successfully transferred TT's existing customers to the new gaming client 'Powered by 888'. This created an immediate and strong foothold in the Latin America region for the Group, generated significant liquidity for the Poker platform and opened new marketing channels in the region previously unavailable to the Group. LuckyAce: LuckyAce is led by a team of gaming industry veterans with a track record of customer recruitment and traffic generation. LuckyAcePoker and LuckyAceCasino brands are a powerful combination of 888's added value platform with the LuckyAce online marketing expertise. LuckyAce is focusing on rapidly growing European markets, and will operate in parallel to 888's own brands, boosting market share in these high potential territories. The new strategic alliances part of 888's business received a significant boost with the acquisition of the Bingo business, positioning the Group right at the forefront of Bingo service providers. While 2007 focused mainly on Poker partnerships; in 2008, 888 will focus on providing an integrated product offering to business partners, encompassing Poker, Casino, Bingo and Sportsbetting. 888 intends to launch several new integrated Poker and Casino partnerships throughout the year. In addition to these priority areas, other marketing channels have continued to drive acquisition and retention: Online The online marketing department has undergone significant developments in the past year, recruiting a large portion of the company's new customers through its multi-department expertise. This department implemented an array of online branding and direct-response advertising campaigns targeting a wide range of customer segments. The department also experimented at the leading edge of online marketing, running campaigns using viral marketing, user-generated video content and several other web 2.0 trends. There was considerable growth in relationships with technology providers, advertising networks and publishers, which contributed to increased performance in new and existing online campaigns. Sales The affiliates department achieved considerable growth in 2007, led by a drive to register new affiliates to the Group's programme. There was a focus on customised sponsorship promotions with new and existing affiliate partners and this contributed significantly to increased commitment and investment from these partners. During Quarter 4, there was a drive to emphasise the role of offline activation activities for Poker. These new offline marketing techniques and promotions attracted many new customers, and the Group will continue to invest in a multitude of new marketing channels in 2008. Search and Web Optimization Technologies ('SWOT') SWOT is much more than traditional simple search engine optimisation ('SEO'). 2007 was a strong year for SWOT, where acquisition of new customers via search engine traffic increased significantly across the whole business and especially in the UK. 2008 will bring new customer acquisition opportunities with the introduction of the '888sport' Sportsbook and the '888ladies' Bingo brands, and there are a number of web 2.0 plans in various regions. Offline 2007 was another successful year for the Group's offline marketing around the world: 888 launched a number of campaigns in Latin America, including shirt sponsorship of Club Nationale in Uruguay, TV poker programming across the region behind the 888 and Tower Torneos brands, as well as tournaments supported by a series of magazine and national press advertising. In Australia, 888 launched the 888Poker brand offline through a heavyweight outdoor campaign, in Sydney, on the bus and train networks, supported with national press and magazine activities. Across Europe, 888 had another year of major success with the shirt sponsorship of Sevilla FC. Sevilla won the UEFA Cup for the second consecutive year, the Spanish Cup (Copa del Rey) and finished third in the Spanish premier league (La Liga). In the UK, the coming into force of the Gambling Act 2005 opened the way for the Group to launch television advertising. 888 retained London's leading creative agency, CHI & Partners, to deliver a UK based branding campaign across all marketing channels behind the new positioning 'Enjoy the game'. The Group's ongoing sponsorship of the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield generated over 140 hours of television coverage on the BBC and Eurosport, and was rebroadcast globally. 888 also generated over 80 hours of its own Poker content in 2007 which is syndicated globally. In addition to existing content of the UK Poker Open, the Poker Nations Cup and the Women's Poker Tour, 2007 saw the Group becoming the presenting sponsor of the World Heads Up Championships held in Barcelona. 2008 will prove to be an even bigger year for the Group as 888 continues to build upon its brand having launched its Sportsbook, 888sport, and its new Bingo offering, 888ladies. In addition, 888 will run the biggest ever non-US facing online Poker event of its kind, branded the World Poker Crown, with a $3 million guaranteed prize pool. Offering and R&D Casino 888's major Casino brand, Casino on Net, has consistently been ranked as the leading online Casino brand in the world. It continues to generate substantial business, and despite the recent introduction of 888's Emerging Offerings, still represented more than 55% of the Group's NGR in 2007 (2006: 57%) with NGR growth of 33% over the year, and, significantly, with 60% growth between Quarter 4 2007 (US$35.3 million) and Quarter 4 of 2006 (US$22.1 million). During 2007, 888's tenth anniversary year, the Group focused on retaining a contemporary feel to the Casino, adding more games, and increasing the level of localisation while maintaining its core propositions of trust and simplicity combined with its first class customer service. Listening to its customers, 888 has enhanced the customer experience by providing faster game play, and by giving the customer greater choice over bet size. 888 also continued to expand its Casino offering: it introduced a new gaming 'ecosystem' which enables third party game developers to integrate their products seamlessly into 888's gaming environment, provided Casino software to white labels and introduced a live dealer Casino tailored for certain Asian markets. The combination of trendy entertainment content consumed by customers worldwide together with a unique gaming experience is a key factor to 888's success, as it has increasingly become the entertainment destination of choice for more customers. To this end, 888 added four new and unique Video Slots to increase game variety, with the majority available in each of the 14 languages (including voice localisation) which 888 supports. 888 released its 'Rough Rugby' Slot to coincide with the Rugby World Cup and, in October 2007, released the 'Blond Legend' Video Slot. This Video Slot, featuring 'Marilyn Monroe' pictures, provided by the 'Sam Shaw Collection', has proven very popular among customers. 888 aims to identify further themed content for Casino games. Both games ranked amongst the 3 most popular Video Slots in 888's Casino immediately upon their launch, and made themed Video Slots one of the most significant acquisition and retention tools 888 has. Following this success, 888 is planning to maintain its front-line position through internal development programs, as well as acquiring or licensing third party games to be integrated directly into 888's gaming environment. 2007 saw 888 move product localisation to the next level by enabling the establishment of partnerships with local providers. These partnerships are possible as 888 has successfully opened its platform to third party games, by providing an 'integration platform' layer. This 'integration platform' enables the swift integration of third party games, and will be used to add additional, new and localised games, adapted to 888's own high standards, to its Casino offering during 2008. This will provide its customers with a large variety of quality entertainment, and will contribute to customer acquisition by appealing to expanded demographics. Customer retention will be further re-inforced by the excitement and the choice of an ever expanding proposition. The Group's latest partnership was entered into with Entertasia, one of the leading providers of gaming solutions for the Asian market. Through this partnership, 888 has launched in January 2008 a Live Dealer Casino offering Baccarat, Asian Roulette and Sic Bo. These games are an entry level requirement to compete in the Asian market and will be a key tool for growing 888's presence in this region. 888 continues to seek such partnerships and to integrate other localised games to further target the Asian market. Once again, 888's Casino has maintained its position as the number 1 online Casino. The Group was proud to receive the prestigious 'Casino Operator of the Year' award at the eGaming awards, in addition to the 'Casino of the Year' at the Gambling Online Awards 2007. Casino KPIs Year 2006* 2007 Quarter 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 NGR (US$'000) 21,496 22,531 22,646 22,088 25,952 27,900 28,992 35,276 Active Customers 54,053 48,425 46,444 41,307 70,769 72,362 72,847 73,737 NGR per Active 398 465 488 535 367 386 398 478 Customer (US$) * NGR figures rounded. As can be seen from the previous table, the Casino experienced 60% NGR growth from Quarter 4 of 2006 to Quarter 4 of 2007. The inclusion of Casino games in the Poker client at the end of 2006 greatly increased the customer base and thus the number of quarterly active customers. This resulted in a 4.2% growth in quarterly active customers between Quarter 1 and Quarter 4 of 2007. The increased number of active customers resulted in substantially higher growth in NGR in 2007, particularly in Quarter 4 where NGR increased 22% to $35.3 million. As a result of the sharp increase in active customer base in Quarter 1 2007, NGR per active customer decreased, but has been steadily increasing since, and in Quarter 4 2007, reached $478 per active customer. During 2008, the Group aims to use its strong technological, CRM, data mining and optimisation capabilities to provide its customers with an even more intimate experience tailored to their preferences and playing habits. While, today, 888's offering is already fully localised, in 2008, the Group intends to extend this initiative. It will introduce further localised versions of its popular games together with local games played in specific target markets. It will also adapt its traditional Casino games to the local preferences as best observed today in terrestrial Casinos. Asian and Latin American customers will continue to be at the core of 888's focus. Leveraging its multi-million dollar marketing budget and the strongest global brand in online gaming, in 2008, 888 will launch www.888debut.com, a platform for third party game developers to debut themselves in the online gaming world and to make their product available on the stage of the world's largest online gaming entertainment destination. 888's first integration with a third party provider is in its final stages, and the first batch of games is aimed to be released during the first half of 2008. In order to complete the excitement and competitive environment which 888's customers seek, and to broaden its offering with additional gaming models, the Group also plans to introduce Casino races and tournaments. The Group sees these events as additional marketing methods for enticing new customers, and as a tool for retaining existing ones. With its expertise in tournament management, 888 expects these events to form key part of its gaming environment. Poker Poker operations also enjoyed strong growth in 2007, with NGR increasing by 18% to US$80.8 million (2006: US$68.2 million) contributing 38% (2006: 43%) of the Group's NGR. This growth has been achieved by combining the commitment to its large legacy customer base with the introduction of new software features; increasing the variety of tables and through the enrichment of 888's existing tournaments. During the year, 888 has demonstrated an ever increasing global reach. The Group has achieved further penetration in territories such as Latin America and Asia Pacific, and is operating a truly global 24/7 Poker room, in which customers can find their game of choice at the time of their choice. 888 has moved a step forward in addressing the increased retention requirements of its existing customers by integrating its Casino games into the Poker client. The success of Casino in Poker led to the integration of Backgammon and Bingo in Poker in 2007, with Sportsbook in Poker integration planned for 2008. This integration strategy is the achievement of the Group's stated goal of delivering a unified offering and adding new revenue streams to existing ones, and by capitalising on the synergies between 888's offerings. Through 2007 and into 2008, the Group has enriched its user experience. In 2007, 888 added 3D tables with avatars alongside its 2D classic view tables. While the 2D addresses the needs of high stake and multiple table Poker customers, the newly designed 3D tables with avatars have been very popular, and became the table of choice for the majority of customers. Continuing this effort, 888 is committed to developing features such as its newly introduced 'chat call-outs', which allow customers to get closer to a 'live-like' user experience. In addition, In 2007 888 integrated Backgammon into its unified Poker client, in order to enhance customer retention. In 2008, 888 plans to increase its Backgammon liquidity, by further localising the game by targeting new customer segments. 888 also plans to integrate other local peer to peer games in different regions, to make its gaming environment a one stop shop, which includes globally popular games as well as locally popular ones. 2007 has also marked 888's evolution to become a new 'Poker Network' providing a full, end to end solution for 'white label' Poker operators, making 888 itself a 'Poker Network Operator'. As a Poker Network Operator, 888 stands out by offering a complete solution, in which existing operators can leverage their customer base and new operators can grow from scratch using the shared liquidity offered by 888's network and the robust back office operation that the Group provides. Poker KPIs Year 2006* 2007 Quarter 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 NGR (US$'000) 17,857 16,322 15,686 18,374 20,918 19,890 18,590 21,419 Active Customers 134,710 122,087 132,995 147,805 168,066 166,772 168,105 170,401 NGR per Active 133 134 118 124 124 119 111 126 Customer (US$) * NGR figures rounded. As can be seen from the previous table, 888's Poker NGR grew by 18% in 2007. During the year, the historical seasonal pattern of a slower Quarter 2 and Quarter 3 was repeated with a stronger Quarter 4. This continuous growth in NGR in 2007 is particularly impressive given that the additional revenue derived from Poker customers playing Casino games is included in Casino NGR. Active customers increased during the year, showing 15% increase between Quarter 4 2006 to Quarter 4 2007. Finally, quarterly NGR per active customer remained relatively constant. In order to drive further growth in 2008, 888 is currently working to improve the conversion of its play for free 'Demo' customers to real money customers by including the demo mode play option within the real money environment. The year has started with the keynote announcement of the 'World Poker Crown', a sequence of branded events, which will culminate with a $3 million guaranteed prize pool, offline tournament. To date, this is the largest single event of its kind offered to the non-US market. This $3 million event is the tournament final and daily and weekly satellite tournaments are run, customised to match 888's geographic customer base profiles in terms of game level, risk profile and financial capability. This activity will ultimately provide 10 qualifiers for the final. The Group plans to introduce more features designed to maintain customers' engagement and commitment throughout the year. Such features include the addition of advanced community and communication tools, which 888 has already started to roll out. In 2008, 888 will also introduce the broadcasting of relevant global and localised TV content, generated both by itself and by its users. Such content will be made available through 888's various marketing channels and on its website, through a planned advanced Video Portal. These enhancements will further strengthen the performance and reach of 888's Poker room. Combined Casino and Poker KPIs With the gradual migration of the Group's customers onto the unified offering, the distinction between Casino and Poker revenue becomes more and more difficult. As a result, the Group reports its KPIs for the combined Casino and Poker activity in the table below. Year 2006* 2007 Quarter 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 NGR (US$'000) 39,353 38,853 38,332 40,463 46,870 47,790 47,582 56,695 Active Customers 188,763 170,512 179,439 189,112 205,907 208,876 209,811 209,918 NGR per Active 208 228 214 214 228 229 227 270 Customer (US$) * NGR figures rounded. As can be seen from the previous table, the combined Casino and Poker KPIs reveal strong NGR growth in 2007 compared to 2006, growth which accelerated during the Quarter 4. This, in part, can be attributed to increased active customer numbers that have grown in each quarter since the FIFA World Cup in the summer of 2006, as well as migration into higher edge games. The growth in both factors has resulted in a stable NGR per active customer for the first three quarters, followed by a significant increase to $270 per quarter (2006: $214) in Quarter 4 2007, which benefited from the substantial NGR growth. Bingo 2007 heralded 888's entry into the online Bingo market with, in May 2007, the successful Bingo acquisition. The acquired Bingo business constitutes the provision of software, customer support and payment processing to some of the premium Bingo partners in the UK, such as: www.foxybingo.com, www.mirrorbingo.com, www.thinkbingo.com, www.bingoscotland.com, www.thinkbingoplus.com In addition to the Bingo business, 888 now operates a white label Bingo network which has some 50 white labels, including BingoBallroom and PoshBingo. 2007 continued to see growth in online Bingo with a number of new networks and white label sites entering the market, in which 888 Bingo has continued to be a dominant customer. In parallel to increasing the number of 90-ball and 75-ball Bingo rooms, the Group continued to strengthen the community feel of its offering, and achieved significant customer satisfaction and retention levels. The community feeling in 888's Bingo rooms is a combination of its friendly, welcoming team of moderators who follow customers throughout their stay within 888's Bingo rooms, and its rewarding website that includes a variety of interaction, chat tools and venues. An example of such features is the Ladies Lounge where 888's customers can find birthday bulletins, the Bingo glossary, Bingo calls and loyalty point offers. Loyalty to 888ladies and to the Bingo venues powered by 888, whether one of 888's premium partners or one of its white label partners, is proof of the pervasiveness of community characteristics of an online Bingo and further evidence of the appropriateness of 888's stated strategy to continuously invest in expanding the scope of community services and tools in its Bingo offering. 888's Bingo virtual venues are places that people feel excited to enter into. Its view on promotions to customers is simply: to constantly give customers a reason to return. The excitement in 888's Bingo rooms in 2007 took the forms of monthly guaranteed jackpots, special event jackpots, weekly and bi-weekly indulging events such as shopping sprees and giveaway of daily prizes that were part of the games themselves. The other side of excitement is providing customers with welcome 'surprises'. For this purpose, the Group worked closely with its game and content providers, and together tailored its gaming so that they do not only expand its offering but also excite and surprise. This included a variety of scratch card games, fixed odds games and branded games. 2008 has seen the launch of the new 888 Bingo network: www.888ladies.com. The site is positioned to appeal to a whole new market for the Group and will provide women a place where they can enjoy Bingo games, with chat, community features and indulgent prizes. In addition to 888ladies, 888's latest licensee has released their Bingo network www.winkbingo.com in Quarter 1, 2008, which is further evidence of the Group's desire to grow its business by partnering with more licensees. Currently with predominately English language customers, the Group plans to expand into the Spanish market in 2008. This market is increasingly a major market for online Bingo, and discussions are already underway with a number of potential licensees. 888 plans to introduce its Bingo offering in two additional localised versions of the game for identified high growth markets. In order to crystallise its position as a leading entertainment and content destination for women, the Group is planning to scale up its editorial capabilities. This will turn 888's gaming offering into a more contextual experience that links between what people read, consume and win on 888 website; ranging from linking personalised online horoscope, bonuses and invitations to play on birthdays and lucky days, to games themed after the brands 888's customers care the most about, whether their favourite TV show or celebrity. Communities are comprised of customers and the community operator. In 2008, 888 plans to strengthen the ties between the two by taking its community tools to the next level, through 888's own community platform. This platform is the culmination of the vast experience obtained by 888's customer retention teams through chat, interaction with customers and observing their behaviour, combined with the latest technology developments, including RSS feeds and web 2.0 widgets. 888's community platform will centralise contemporary content editing, information distribution, sharing spaces and personalisation tools. The Group believes that this platform will have a positive effect on its business and ability to cross-sell new offers to its customers. Italian Sportsbook In December 2006, the Group was awarded one of the online sports betting licenses issued by the Italian Government. This license grants the right to offer online betting facilities to the Italian market in conjunction with a local partner. This license became operational and the business commenced trading with a soft launch in late 2007. Sports Betting In early 2008, 888 unveiled its new international sports betting service to compliment its existing product suite. '888sport' is a fully functioning portal allowing customers to place bets in various currencies via a number of language specific web sites. '888sport' offers a full range of Sport betting services, including; UK, European and International football, horse and greyhound races from around the world and a whole host of other sporting events such as tennis, rugby, motor racing, golf and other popular sports, targeting both international and local markets. '888sport' also features an 'in play' betting service allowing customers to place bets on live events as they are taking place, in some cases right up to the final whistle. The Group's route into this challenging marketplace has been to develop its product in conjunction with Blue Square, one of the most popular and well established sportsbooks in the UK. Based in London, Blue Square was launched in May 1999, and as well as providing internet based sports betting opportunities, also offers its services through other channels including Interactive TV, WAP and Telephone Betting. In 2003, Blue Square was acquired by the Rank Group, who are a major force in land-based gambling, with Casinos and Bingo clubs across the UK and Europe. As a result of the partnership with Blue Square, 888 benefits from Blue Square's experience in trading and risk management to reduce the inherent risks associated with this business. Instead, 888 can concentrate on marketing to new customers using its sport related sponsorships, such as Sevilla football club and the 888 World Snooker Championship, and cross-selling its other products to these new customers. The launch of 888's sportsbook in March 2008 was an important milestone for the Group. The UK version of the sportsbook immediately featured the popular Cheltenham Festival and Champions League knockout stages, whilst April sees the climax of the UK domestic football season, the Grand National, the 888 World Snooker Championships and the U.S. Masters golf from Augusta. In addition to the UK, 888sport will be launching versions of the sportsbook simultaneously in Spain, Germany, Austria, Sweden and Denmark and will be featuring prime sporting events action from these countries. Additional territories will be added throughout the year in Europe, Asia and South America, each with its own local sporting events coverage. The Group sees significant opportunities with sports betting markets such as Spain being largely untapped. The complementary skills and work cultures of the 888 and Blue Square teams make 888 confident of completing a global rollout by the end of 2008. The international launch reinforces 888's strategy of creating a large community of people consuming entertainment content online. New Platforms In 2007, 888 has become an interactive entertainment destination with 'real estate' expanding beyond the www.888.com website, spanning mobile phones through hotel-room entertainment into in-flight systems. As part of its unified offering, 888 allows interactive gaming on each of these new platforms with the same customer account, password and, where allowed, wallet which its customers use online. The roll-out of 888's gaming offerings onto these platforms has enabled its customers to play anytime, anywhere on 888's global network, experiencing the same branded user experience historically enjoyed only online. The purpose of developing these new platforms is two-fold: firstly, to improve retention of existing customers by giving them more ways to interact with 888 and, secondly, to acquire new customers by offering 888's products to audiences that consume entertainment whilst travelling (airplanes, hotels) or on their personal communication tool (mobile phone). For the platform developer and owner, 888's wide game variety and strong brand enables them to broaden the content they offer to their users by incorporating 888's offering to their customers, thereby increasing their own revenues and share of customers' time. During the year, 888 entered into a partnership agreement with one of the world's leading in-room hospitality system providers. This agreement allowed 888 to develop its first online Casino product, specially designed for internet enabled hotel room televisions, with its own branded look and feel. In addition, as part of this partnership, all Wi-Fi access in the hotels that install this system will feature free access to the www.888.com site for guests using laptops in the hotel's network. 888 plans to extend its first trial in the UK in 2008, with the plan to launch this service throughout Europe during the remainder of the year. A further deal entered into by 888 in 2007 was with DTI, an in-flight entertainment industry leader. This agreement enables 888 to offer its Casino on in-flight entertainment systems used by major international airlines. 888 will be in a position to offer its gaming services on long-haul flights using DTI's in-seat entertainment systems as soon as the technology is in place for in-flight internet connectivity and the necessary regulatory approvals are obtained. The product is currently in the final stages of development, and the plan is to finalise installation on the first airplane in late 2008. 888mobile plans to tap into the huge mobile phone market, by using existing customer registration details on Mobile Phone Casino which includes Blackjack, Roulette and Video Slots. The mobile potential is considerable given that in excess of one billion mobile phones will be sold worldwide in 2008, compared to 200 million personal computers. An increasing number of these mobile phones have bigger screens, faster processors, availability and portability which lend themselves to a great gaming experience. This offering, developed in cooperation with UK-based Cellectivity and M-Fuse, is available on over 250 models sold in some 200 countries, and will be distributed through 3, T-mobile, Orange UK and other mobile portals. In 2008, 888 intends to focus on Cable TV and IPTV. This untapped platform is expected to become an acquisition channel as well as a platform to increase customer value. 888 is currently in discussions with several partners and is evaluating the best route to penetrate this market. Payments and Risk Management E-payments, Fraud and Risk Management Department ('e-payments') had a significant role in supporting several strategic growth initiatives undertaken by 888 in 2007. In 2007, customers were offered 23 different deposit and 10 different withdrawal methods. Credit cards and debit cards were the most popular international payment method, representing 86.5% of total deposits in 2007 (2006: 86.7%), with each region having its own distribution of preferred local methods. When customers enter www.888.com they are offered a range of payment options tailored to suit their local market based on their physical location, from which they can choose their preferred payment method. The availability of payment methods is a key element to a localised offering, enabling customers to play their local entertaining game conveniently through their local preferred payment method. By an analysis of geographical data and with the assistance of local knowledge, new payment methods are identified, carefully evaluated and assessed and, where suitable, implemented. Deposits and withdrawals are carefully monitored by 888's in-house Fraud and Payment Risk Management department. This department has a wealth of experience in fraud prevention from years of operation and has integrated their internally developed prevention and verification procedures with commercially available third party measures to enable robust verification. By constantly reviewing and analysing the performance of the payments process, the system is optimised to maximize deposit levels, approval rates, control fraud activity and minimise payment processing costs. In Quarter 3 2007, 888 launched its state of the art payments processing system; an in-house developed new financial backbone system with both back office functionality and user side cashier interface. The new system provides a major upgrade in processing capability and flexibility, providing better customer service combined with an improved internal mechanism. This system increases ease of use for customers, significantly speeds up the integration of new payment methods and automates various back office procedures for greater efficiency and cost saving. Currently in trial, the Group intends to release the system to all its existing and new customers in 2008. Expanding 888's global business requires tailored treatment for payment and withdrawal methods. The Group's e-payments business development and account management teams constantly analyze customer deposit and withdrawal habits in each country, and ensure customers are presented with their preferred methods as the primary selections in the cashier and withdrawal module. In 2007, 888's customers were offered the option to deposit in their local currency, even when the games themselves were played in US dollars. At the beginning of 2008, Sports multi-currency was introduced in US Dollars, Euros, Pound Sterling, Danish Krone and Swedish Krona, to further align the Group's cashier and games with customer needs and payment preferences. Localisation and multi-currency support in Asia, Europe and Latin America, will be the Group's focus in 2008 as well as the integration of new local payment and withdrawal options into the cashier. Customer Service The Group remains committed to being market leader in the global online gaming industry, as measured by customer satisfaction. The Group's dedicated teams of trained in-house customer support representatives provide the highest levels of service and support for each of the Group's brands and white labels. In 2007, the Group continued to invest in the support infrastructure, and expanded its language portfolio, including expanding its existing English Live Chat service to cover three new languages. The Group offers first class customer support via email and telephone, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to customers around the world in up to 13 different languages. The ongoing relationship and dialogue with customers is maintained by Customer Relationship Management teams in two dedicated contact centres, located in Gibraltar and Antigua. The main Gibraltar contact centre focuses on providing support to the Group's principal markets of Europe, Asia/Pacific and Latin America, with the Antiguan contact centre focused on supporting the Group's main English speaking markets in Europe, Australia, Asia Pacific and Canada. The contact centres in Gibraltar and Antigua played a vital role in the successful launch of the Group's first strategic partnerships; with Rileys in the UK and Tower Torneos in Latin America. Operating a dual contact centre system is a cost effective way of managing the overflow of phone calls, chats and emails and allows efficient balancing of operational demands. The Group is therefore able to maintain the same high level of service throughout the day. In addition, the centres complement each other in a number of respects: • Staff schedules are created jointly, taking into consideration business trends from previous years and/or anticipated promotional campaigns in a particular location • Follow up on customer issues can be completed from either location, from a shared database, in 888's integrated back office system. Representatives in each location are cross-trained to provide service for each of the Groups brands. Their aim is to resolve customers' issues during the first contact. The following performance levels were attained in 2007: Casino in English • 94% of all phone calls are answered within 21 seconds • 95% of all emails are replied to within 12 hours • 91% of all chat contacts are answered within 28 seconds Poker in English • 96% of all calls are answered within 21 seconds • 97% of all e-mails are replied to within 12 hours • 91% of all chats are answered within 32 seconds In addition, expert teams in both locations initiate outbound interaction with new and existing customers experiencing deposit issues. Selected customers are also contacted about special offers and new products, and to reactivate those that have become inactive. The launch and upgrade to the new 3D Poker software and various new Casino games launched in all 13 supported languages provided the Group's customer support representatives with further opportunities for cross-selling. VIP service The service level provided to individual customers is differentiated with the Group's best customers receiving more personalised service. This allows the Group to offer its customers tailor-made incentives to suit their profile and maximise their lifetime values. A separate, highly skilled team is dedicated to providing a high level of proactive customer service and hospitality to the Group's most valued Casino customers. The VIP department adopts a thorough approach to following up on sensitive and complex cases. Every VIP customer is provided with a Personal Account Manager who strives to create a personal relationship with his customers in order to offer the ultimate in personal service, determine customer's interests and reward individual customers with gifts tailored to suit their personal tastes. The VIP team organises targeted, worldwide hospitality events to reward VIPs in a tangible manner. Events range from horse racing, football and other sporting events, to weekend breaks, sold-out concerts and social gatherings, which also give customers the opportunity to meet their Account Managers face-to-face. The VIP hospitality programme significantly enhances customer loyalty and individual lifetime value. In 2008, the VIP department is set to expand into providing their hospitality programme to each of the Group's brands and White Labels. Customer Satisfaction 888 continuously monitors customer satisfaction by requesting and analyzing real-time feedback, and in 2007, conducted a comprehensive survey to benchmark the Group's service level in its primary markets. Compared to previous studies, the results show a significant overall increase in customer satisfaction. Respondents attributed the highest rating to the level of professionalism of customer support representatives, achieving ratings of 4.27 and 4.15 out of a maximum of 5 for Casino and Poker respectively. Additional rating include: • English Casino customers rated their satisfaction with the quality of service at 4.11 • English Poker customers rated their satisfaction with the quality of service at 4.01 • Overall satisfaction of customers from various other countries and languages is similar • Response time ratings were 4.29 and 4.16 for Casino and Poker respectively. A vital component in maintaining and exceeding customer expectations is the ability to access each customer's full and complete history in real time, optimising customer interactions at all levels. The Group's advanced proprietary back office application functions as the backbone for the Group's entire Business Operation. Data from various divisions is integrated and streamlined into a single point of reference, and provides representatives from every department - Customer Support, VIP, Risk Management, Business Production and Finance - the tools to provide superior assistance to customers regardless of the department the query is directed to. Customer contacts are strictly monitored to ensure quality and parity. The Group have retained leading contact centre experts to further enhance the quality of its customer support, and representatives benefit from ongoing refresher training courses, including responsible gaming training. Reporting and Data Mining The Group has developed outstanding reporting and data mining tools that assist in identifying and predicting customer behaviour, based on data collected since the Group was founded in 1997. Sophisticated customer tracking technology gives the Group the ability to extract and analyze relevant information that enables it to better target its offering and marketing activities to customers around the world. Customers also benefit from the Group's ability to generate tailored statistical and contact category reports, which identify trends, habits and expectations of customers in real time highlighting bottlenecks and possible training needs at an early stage. Responsible Gaming 'Because we care, responsible gaming means investing time, energy and resources in the people we interact with daily - our employees, our customers and our community!' The Group's aim is to raise awareness to responsible gaming through education and research programmes and to provide staff with the right tools to ensure a responsible gaming environment. The Group is constantly implementing new ways to create a caring, ethical gaming environment and to ensure customers are safe. Responsible gaming is a key feature in the Group's business strategy, reflecting the importance it feels towards this issue. In acknowledging the risks that the Group's games can pose for a small minority of people, the Group strives to achieve excellence in its responsible gaming policy and ethical conduct. The Group's Director of CSR & Responsible Gaming has wide-ranging responsibilities that include responsible gaming, fair gaming, outreach programmes with local charities and donations. Training 888 believes that responsible gaming begins from within. The Group has therefore developed a cross-Group global training programme in which all Group employees have participated throughout the past year. The Group's responsible training programme includes every department in the Group. The training has been tailor-made for each department so that responsible gaming awareness occurs from the first stage of each and every activity within the Group, including the game development. Protecting customers Gamcare, one of the leading authorities on the provision of information, advice and practical help in addressing the social impact of gambling, has recognised www.888.com's dedication to responsible gaming and customer protection and has awarded the Group its certificate this year. After undergoing an audit covering staff training, underage verification, self deposit limits, self exclusion, referral processes to relevant agencies and related issues, the Group was commended for maintaining excellent standards of practice. As a responsible, regulated gaming group, 888 also complies with all guidelines published by eCOGRA, a non-profit, independent, regulatory body based in the UK. By examination of procedures and controls eCOGRA ensures that approved operators are properly and transparently monitored to provide customer protection. www.888.com also adheres to the stringent rules concerning underage gambling established by the Interactive Gaming Council of which it is a member. Preventative measures Keeping in mind its motto 'responsible gaming means investing in the people we care about', Group staff are trained to respect customer privacy. Should a problem arise, 888 aims to work together with customers towards the best and most comfortable solution for them. The Group has established several measures designed to help prevent gambling from becoming a problem. Personal limits are in place across all Group brands, and are voluntarily available to all members using the new payment system planned to be fully integrated this year. If, at any stage, a customer becomes concerned about their play behaviour, they can request to be self-excluded for a chosen period. During this period, 888 will block the account. Any new accounts the customer might attempt to open during the exclusion period will also be blocked as soon as detected. In addition, the Group will take all reasonable measures to make sure the customer will not receive any promotional material during the designated time. All customers who reactivate their account following a self-exclusion period are given the opportunity to set their own limits. The Group has also added the 'Gambling Therapy' button on its website to provide its customers with information and support for those who feel their gambling is a matter of concern. Gambling Therapy provides online support to anyone affected by problem gambling. Protecting minors In accordance with its responsible gambling policy, the Group does not knowingly allow anyone under the age of 18 to play its games and none of its promotions are targeted at minors. Together with Gamcare, the Group trains call centre staff to identify and deal with anyone who might be underage. The Group has trained staff to be most sensitive to the possibility of underage gambling; whenever an account is suspected of belonging to an underage customer, it is suspended until a full investigation has been carried out. In order to protect minors, verification systems are used, where applicable, to verify and identify the age and identity of the customer. Raising awareness During 2007, the Group launched a new website dedicated exclusively to responsible gaming called 888responsible.com (http://www.888responsible.com/). 888responsible.com offers comprehensive and easily accessible information about responsible gaming practices, dealing with problem gambling, preventing underage gambling, charity activities and more. The new website provides tools with which to address online gaming. Parents can learn how to identify the signs indicating that their children might have a problem related to gambling, while customers can take the self-assessment test to determine their gambling habits, learn how to keep out of debt and even how to exclude themselves from playing at online Casinos. Education During 2007, 888 joined the RIGT (Responsibility in Gambling Trust) and donated to their new educational programme. The aim of the programme is to help young people understand the risk of problem gambling and to show them how they can reduce harm to themselves and their friends by developing skills, attitudes and knowledge. Corporate social responsibility policy Working with the community As a global Group, 888 aims to reach out to its communities worldwide and to work with them for a better future. On 10 October, 2007, in celebration of its tenth birthday, the Group held its first Charity Day in collaboration with two global charities. The Charity Day focused on fundraising campaigns to support humanitarian and environmental projects worldwide. The day involved all aspects of the Group, from Group employees who volunteered their time at local charities, to customers, whose losses during the day, playing Casino, Poker and Bingo, were earmarked for donation. At the end of the day a total of $100,000 was raised and donated to two global charities: EarthAction and World for World. During the day, the Group's employees also volunteered their time to their local regional charity - Macmillan Cancer Support in the UK, St. Martin's School in Gibraltar, The Adele School in Antigua and 'Up for the Challenge' in Israel. This day was only the start of what is expected to be a long lasting relationship between the Group, its employees and the various charities. As part of its ongoing CSR initiatives in Spain through our Gibraltar site, the Group will sponsor a pair of Lynxes, which are new additions to the Castellar Zoo in Spain, for the next five years. In March 2008, 888 received formal confirmation from FTSE4GOOD that all requirements had been met, and that the Group is now part of the index. Environment As an on-line company, the Group has a low environmental impact. Nevertheless, the Group acknowledges that everyday actions may affect the environment with potentially adverse consequences. The Group's offline operations are primarily office based, and its main environmental impact stems from transportation and the use of paper, lighting, heating, air conditioning and IT. 888 has established a committee to deal with office paper use, waste, recycling and other relevant environmental issues. The committee, led by the Group's Director of Global Purchasing and Operations, is responsible for overseeing new procedures, their practical implementation within the Group, and the exploration of new ways to minimise environmental footprint. This year a pilot project designed to use energy and resources as efficiently as possible was launched at the Group's offices in Israel. As the pilot was successful, both these actions will be implemented at all Group offices during the coming year. As a global business, extensive employee travel is another environmental challenge with which the Group is faced. In order to minimise travel, the Group has invested in the latest multi-media technology and encourages employees to use teleconferencing facilities. For daily commuting, 888 provides its employees with bus transportation to minimize the use of private vehicles. The Group has also provided bicycle locking stations in the parking lots and other bicycle facilities in order to encourage employees to cycle to work. During 2008, the Group intends to finalise its carbon footprint and process an action plan that will reduce its carbon release. Life @ 888.com 888 invests a great deal of time and resources ensuring that customers have access to a friendly and caring gaming environment, employees and suppliers enjoy an ethical and rewarding workplace, and the greater community as well as shareholders benefit from the Group's success. We follow a creed which serves as a guideline for global work life. Entertainment@888 - We believe that entertainment is what completes our lives. After the challenges and routine that occupy most of our time, everyone is entitled to some fun and excitement. Customers@888 - We believe that our first responsibility is to provide the best gaming experience to our customers. This means offering the most entertaining, innovative, exciting and rewarding opportunities to win, combined with unparalleled customer service that is available from any location at any given time. 888 is proud to develop and acquire new products to maintain its edge. We are always mindful of the complex regulatory environment in which it operates and the social responsibility that comes with the gaming industry. 888 understand that it must invest time and resources in caring for customers and protecting the vulnerable. Employees@888 - We are responsible for our employees who work with us worldwide. We must provide an enjoyable work environment where people are challenged and motivated to excel, where flair is rewarded, compensation is fair and the balance between work and family is respected. Individual development is encouraged and advancement is based solely on merit. We must always invest in developing our employees so that they can achieve their personal aspirations. All employees should expect their managers to be capable, knowledgeable and motivating. We must always treat our suppliers and other partners with respect, enabling them to make a fair profit. We will never expose our employees to risks and all employees should be comfortable that their actions are just and ethical. Responsibility@888 - We must use our financial success for the greater good. We are in a wonderful position to invest in the charities and organizations that are important to our employees and our customers. We must especially encourage and support the social responsibility that accompanies our work. We are committed to providing a fair and responsible gaming environment and to guiding our customers to play responsibly. Investors@888 - Our final responsibility is to our shareholders. We must strive to operate as efficiently as possible, achieving profitable excellence, ensuring that we treat their capital as if it were our own. We must take risks that allow step-changes in performance while always calculating the risk and measuring our results, retaining knowledge and learning from our experiences. By doing all of the above, we will increase shareholder value. Implementing our values We set high standards for ourselves, and we take pride in our ability to consistently maintain them. Following the belief that 'it's in our nature' and after extensive internal workshops involving employees across the organization, we have outlined and implemented a set of comprehensive values that represent the way we operate: Excellence: We consistently challenge ourselves to reach the highest performance level in everything we do. Innovation: We dare to question our own 'way of doing things', keeping an open mind, experimenting, and constantly creating new and surprising solutions. Caring: At 888.com, we value every employee, colleague and customer. We show it by creating a nurturing environment of respect and sensitivity to the needs of others. We do not forget our commitment to provide a responsible gaming environment to all. Customer centricity: Keeping our customers (both internal and external) at the centre of all decision-making processes, we strive to exceed customer expectations and provide the best customer experience. Leading: We strive to remain one step ahead of the competition. This means we are constantly on our toes, thinking ahead and keeping a close eye on industry developments. Collaboration: Our success depends on our ability to work as a single unit while sharing our knowledge, capabilities and opinions in an open, respectful and trusting environment. These values underpin the Group's strategic goals, giving all employees a sense of identification and a defined way of behaving as well as ensuring alignment between the organization's business objectives and those of individual employees. These values serve us as our guidelines, and we strive to obtain a high level of integrity in the way we work, communicate and act. Professional development The Group recognises that investment in the professional development of its employee is a key factor in its ongoing success. This year, the Group developed a leadership programme which focused on providing managers with leading global managerial tools and solutions (e.g. Ken Blanchard and Myers Briggs) for leading and managing their employees successfully. The leadership programme focused on coaching managers to adopt appropriate leadership styles to suit individuals in their team and to develop the behaviour required by managers to achieve excellent performance and team work. Building on effective communications, motivation skills and concentrating on the relationship between manager and employee, the programme succeeded in enabling managers to analyze and resolve a variety of possible situations that they may experience and apply themselves in the most appropriate way. This embedded the Group's value of leadership in its daily operations. Training Ensuring that staff have all the skills and knowledge required to perform their job well and assisting them to develop the next generation of products and services is crucial to a growing business. The Group is dedicated to the professional development of its employees so that they can achieve their personal aspirations. Training is therefore part of life@888.com. Training initiatives are offered both internally and externally and include technical skills as well as soft skills training. In 2007, 80% of all Group employees participated in internal and/or external professional training seminars. The training sections were divided into three levels; soft skill training, technological training and industry training. In each training section, the Group used professional trainers together with well designed materials. This year, 888 has also initiated a 'Train the Trainer' internal programme which focused on assisting expert employees to improve their presentational skills and their professionalism. Equal opportunity The Group believes in promoting equal opportunities through every aspect of the employment relationship and by providing a workplace that welcomes difference and enables employees to feel comfortable. As 888 enjoys a cosmopolitan workforce from a large variety of nationalities all working side by side, the Group's diversity policy is explicit. The Group does not tolerate any form of harassment, including any uninvited, unwelcome behaviour which offends, humiliates or intimidates. 35% of the Group's worldwide management team is female. At year end, the Group had 805 employees (2006: 736) at the following locations; Gibraltar 270, Israel 451, Antigua 68, London 16. Regulation and General Regulatory Developments The regulatory framework of online gaming in different countries around the world remains as dynamic and rapidly evolving as ever. While some jurisdictions have moved to curtail the activities of online gaming sites, many others are currently contemplating liberalisation and regulation of the industry, and some have already taken this route. The Board notes that there are significant risks, unique to the online gaming industry, including from activity with customers in the USA prior to the Group's withdrawal from the market in October 2006, where customers of 888 generated 55% of its Net Gaming Revenue. The Board remains committed to monitoring closely and addressing regulatory changes as they occur, and to fostering, so far as possible, the trend towards liberalisation and regulation of online gaming throughout the world. Gibraltar 888 is licensed and regulated in Gibraltar. Italy In Italy, 888 received a sports betting license, which allows it to offer sports betting services (supervised by the State Monopoly Authority). Following regulations issued by the Italian authorities in 2007, the license will allow 888 to offer skill games (including Poker tournaments), subject to receiving the proper authorizations from the Italian authorities. EU The European Commission is challenging the online gambling and betting regulatory regimes of various European States, as the Commission holds that as regards EU licensed companies, these regimes might infringe the enshrined freedom to provide services, the freedom of establishment and the concept of mutual recognition. This effort is reflected in, inter alia, the infringement proceedings initiated against several EU States - Italy, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Austria and Greece; should these Member States fail to supply adequate reasoning of their gambling legislation, the Commission may refer the issue with each Member State to the European Court of Justice. While these proceedings may, in the end, cause the European States to liberalize their gambling markets, it should be noted that it could be a very long time before resolutions or judgments are reached (if at all). In this light, in France, during March 2007, 888's non-executive director and former Chief Executive Officer, John Anderson, attended an interview with the French authorities. 888 is in consultation with its legal advisers with regard to this matter, and closely monitors the situation for any developments. Specifically as to France, the French Supreme Court annulled a French Court of Appeals judgment issued against Zeturf, an online gambling operator licensed in Malta, due to the fact that the Court of Appeals failed to examine whether the French gambling legislation is compatible with EU law. The Supreme Court ordered the Court of Appeals to re-examine the issue according to EU law, and also to consider whether the social goals which justify the gambling monopoly are not fulfilled by the Maltese gambling legislation. In addition to these infringement proceedings, the EU Commission is involved in other instances in which the online gambling and betting regulatory regimes appear to contravene rights and freedoms of online gambling and betting operators (e.g., issuing detailed opinions against the enactment of prohibitive legislation, and intervening in the WTO process described above). On 6 March 2007, the European Court of Justice issued its judgment in the Placanica case, which focuses on the compatibility of the Italian gambling legislation with EU law. The Court ruled, inter alia, that insofar as the prohibition to offer gambling services which is set within a Member State's legislation is found to be incompatible with EU law, such Member State may not apply criminal sanctions to an activity which contravenes this prohibition. The Court found this to be the case there, as a specific prohibition contained in the Italian gambling legislation which was reviewed by the Court was found to contravene EU law. Therefore, the Court ruled that Italy cannot apply criminal sanctions for breaching this prohibition. USA/WTO In the USA, UIGEA added a new section to the United States Code making it illegal for anyone engaging in the business of betting or wagering to knowingly accept any credit, electronic funds transfer, check, draft, etc. in connection with the participation of another person in unlawful internet gaming. In essence, the UIGEA act prohibits online gambling operators from receiving the proceeds of financial transactions in connection with internet gaming if the gaming is illegal in the state where the bettor is located. In addition, the United States Secretary of Treasury and Federal Reserve are directed under UIGEA to promulgate regulations which will require financial institutions to block transactions in connection with internet gaming (draft regulations were issued in October 2007). In October 2006, the Group stopped taking bets from US customers. On 5 June 2007, the Group announced that it had initiated preliminary discussions with the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York regarding activity prior to enactment of the legislation. It is too early to assess any particular outcome of these discussions. It was recently found by the World Trade Organization that the US legislative position with respect to Internet Gambling violates US trade commitments. Following this decision, the US withdrew its trade commitment in the sphere of gambling; while several trade partners required compensation from the US following this withdrawal, none of the agreements reached, so far, between the US and some of these trade partners, have had an impact within the online gambling market. Antigua and Costa Rica did not reach agreement with the US, and applied to the WTO to arbitrate a settlement between them and the US, in connection with the withdrawal of the US commitment. In December 2007, the Remote Gaming Association (a trade body representing several online gaming operators, of which the Group is a member) filed a complaint with the European Union against the US in connection with the breach of its trade commitments. Following this complaint, the European Commission decided to open an investigation into whether the United States is in breach of its WTO obligations in the sphere of gambling (in relation to the period prior to the withdrawal of its commitment). The investigation is expected to take five to seven months, at the end of which the Commission will present its findings, which could lead to the initiation of WTO proceedings. The Board continues to monitor these developments closely, and is alert to changes as they may occur in areas where the Group operates. Risk Report The Group operates in a new and dynamic business environment. In addition to the day to day commercial risks faced by most enterprises, the online gaming industry presents the Group with particular challenges in respect of Regulatory risk, Reputational risk, Information Technology risk and Taxation risk, each of which is detailed below. Regulatory risk The regulatory framework of online gaming is dynamic and complex. Change in the regulatory regime in a specific jurisdiction could have a material adverse effect on business volume and financial performance in that jurisdiction. A detailed regulatory review is set out below. Reputational risk The Group is exposed to the risk of under-age and problem gamblers accessing its online real money gaming sites. The Group devotes considerable resources in putting into place prevention measures coupled with strict internal procedures designed not to allow under-aged players from accessing its real money sites. In addition, the Group promotes a safe and responsible gaming environment to its customers supplemented by its corporate culture. The Group appointed a dedicated director of CSR & Responsible Gaming tasked with the responsibility of implementing such policies. Further details about the Group's responsible gaming initiatives are set out above. Information technology risks As a leading online business, the Group's IT systems are critical to its operation The Group is reliant on the performance of these systems whilst ensuring exposure to external risks is minimal Cutting-edge technologies and procedures are implemented throughout the Group's technology operations designed to protect its networks from malicious attacks and other such risks. These measures include traffic filtering, anti-DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) devices, Anti-Virus protection from leading vendors and other such means. Physical and logical network segmentation is used to isolate and protect the Group's networks and restrict malicious activities. In order to ensure systems are protected properly and effectively, external security scan and assessments are carried out in a timely manner. In addition, the Group has recently implemented a new high-end storage solution enhancing storage availability and performance. All critical data is replicated to another storage device for disaster recovery purposes and all data is stored off-site on a daily basis. In order to minimize dependencies on telecommunication service providers, the Group invests in network infrastructure redundancies whilst regularly reviewing its service providers. As a part of its monitoring system, the Group deploys set user experience tests which measure performance from different locations around the world. Network-related performance issues are addressed by re-routing traffic using different routes or providers. 888 operate a 24x7 Network Operations Centre (NOC). The NOC's role is to conduct real time monitoring of production activities using state-of-the-art systems. These systems are designed to identify and provide alerts regarding problems related to systems, key business indicators and issues surrounding customer usability experience. Taxation risk The Group aims to ensure that each legal entity within the Group is a tax resident of the jurisdiction in which it is incorporated and has no taxable presence in any other jurisdiction. While the Group's customers are located worldwide, certain jurisdictions may seek to tax such activity which could have a material adverse effect on the amount of tax payable by the Group or on customers' behaviour. The Group benefit from favourable fiscal arrangements in some of the jurisdictions in which it has taxable presence without which its results would be adversely affected. All gaming activities are based in Gibraltar, where the Group currently benefits from a tax exempt status. A change of control or activity of a tax exempt subsidiary would result in the loss of its tax status. However, this is not expected to have a material adverse effect on the overall tax rate of the Group. The tax exempt status is due to expire by the end of 2010 when the Government of Gibraltar intends to introduce a new fiscal regime that complies with EU requirements. The replacement regime is still to be unveiled although the Gibraltar Government has pledged its commitment to maintain fiscal competitiveness and a low effective tax rate. The Group is required to pay a gaming tax, currently set at 1% of gaming yield, with an annual maximum cap of £425,000 in aggregate, in respect of its Casino, Poker, Bingo and Backgammon activities. From 2008, additional gaming tax at the same rate is due in respect of the Group's new Sports offering. The Group's subsidiary in Israel, Random Logic Limited, and the Israeli branch of Intersafe Global Limited, have each entered into separate transfer pricing agreements on an arm's-length basis with the Israeli Income Tax Commissioner. The arrangements for Random Logic Limited are effective until 2010, while the arrangement for the Intersafe Global Limited branch has terminated on 31 December 2007. Accordingly, the Group is in the process of discontinuing the use of this branch and so does not intend to enter into a new agreement. The operation in Antigua also benefits from a low tax regime further mitigated by the current small scale of the operation Financial Information Audited Consolidated Income Statement for the year ended 31 December 2007 Year ended Year ended 31 December 31 December 2006 2007 Note US$'000 US$'000 Net Gaming Revenue 2 213,383 157,000 Other operating income 2 3,563 - Total operating income 216,946 157,000 Operating expenses 64,864 49,448 Research and development expenses 23,496 19,381 Selling and marketing expenses 70,897 51,037 Administrative expenses 4 24,660 28,653 Operating Profit before share benefit charges 40,829 17,310 Share benefit charges 7,800 8,829 Operating Profit 5 33,029 8,481 Finance income 4,957 4,883 Profit before tax before share benefit charges 45,786 22,193 Share benefit charges 19 7,800 8,829 Profit before tax 37,986 13,364 Taxation 6 3,199 3,117 Profit from Continuing operations 34,787 10,247 (Loss)/Profit from Discontinued operations 23 (552) 64,254 Profit after tax for the year attributable to equity holders of 34,235 74,501 parent Year ended Year ended 31 December 31 December 2007 2006 Earnings per share Note Continuing operations 7 Basic 10.3c 3.0c Diluted 10.1c 3.0c Discontinued operations 23(e) Basic (0.2)c 19.1c Diluted (0.2)c 18.8c Total Basic 10.1c 22.1c Diluted 9.9c 21.8c Audited Consolidated Balance Sheet at 31 December 2007 31 December 31 December 2007 2006 Note US$'000 US$'000 Assets Non-current assets Intangible assets 10 40,656 - Property, plant and equipment 11 16,496 13,033 Financial assets 12 654 - Deferred taxes 13 537 546 58,343 13,579 Current assets Cash and cash equivalents 14 104,308 114,356 Trade and other receivables 15 19,530 9,669 123,838 124,025 Total assets 182,181 137,604 Equity and liabilities Equity attributable to equity holders of the parent Share capital 16 3,097 3,073 Available for sale reserve (105) - Retained earnings 89,735 83,929 Total equity attributable to equity holders of the parent 92,727 87,002 Liabilities Current liabilities Trade and other payables 17 63,040 27,931 Member deposits 26,414 22,671 Total liabilities 89,454 50,602 Total equity and liabilities 182,181 137,604 Audited Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity for the year ended 31 December 2007 Available for Retained Total sale reserve earnings Share capital US$'000 US$'000 US$'000 US$'000 Balance at 1 January 2006 3,068 - 29,262 32,330 Net Profit for the year - - 74,501 74,501 Dividend paid - - (28,658) (28,658) Issue of shares 5 - (5) - Share benefit charges - - 8,829 8,829 Balance at 1 January 2007 3,073 - 83,929 87,002 Net Profit for the year - - 34,235 34,235 Dividend paid - - (36,205) (36,205) Issue of shares 24 - (24) - Valuation (losses) of available for sale investments - (105) - (105) Share benefit charges - - 7,800 7,800 Balance at 31 December 2007 3,097 (105) 89,735 92,727 The following describes the nature and purpose of each reserve within equity. Share Capital - represents the nominal value of shares allotted, called-up and fully paid for. Available for sale reserve - represents the gain or loss arising from a change in the fair value of an available-for-sale financial assets. Retained earnings - represents the cumulative net gains and losses recognised in the consolidated income statement. Audited Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the year ended 31 December 2007 Year ended Year ended Year ended Year ended 31 December 31 December 31 December 31 December 2007 2007 2006 2006 US$'000 US$'000 US$'000 US$'000 Cash flows from operating activities Profit before income tax 37,434 77,618 Adjustments for Depreciation 4,192 3,801 Loss on sale of property, plant and - 29 equipment Amortisation 1,550 - Interest received (5,434) (4,879) Share benefit charges 7,800 8,829 45,542 85,398 (Increase)/decrease in trade receivables (7,241) 6,346 Decrease in related party balances - 1,331 Increase in other accounts receivables (2,620) (1,002) Increase/(decrease) in trade payables 2,186 (1,439) Increase/(decrease) in member deposits 3,743 (6,654) Increase in other accounts payables 7,663 3,527 Cash generated from operations 49,273 87,507 Income tax paid (3,075) (3,052) Net cash generated from operating activities 46,198 84,455 Cash flows from investing activities Acquisition of assets comprising of the online bingo business of Globalcom Limited (see note 9) (17,142) - Purchase of property, plant and equipment (7,574) (8,621) Proceeds from sale of property, plant and - 99 equipment Interest received 5,434 4,879 Acquisition of available for sale assets (759) - Net cash used in investing activities (20,041) (3,643) Cash flows from financing activities Dividends paid (36,205) (28,658) Net cash used in financing activities (36,205) (28,658) Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash (10,048) 52,154 equivalents Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning 114,356 62,202 of the year Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the 104,308 114,356 year This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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Evoke (DI) (EVOK)
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