Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 2515I

888 Holdings plc

17 November 2008

 



17 November 2008 

888 Holdings Public Limited Company 

('888')

Interim Management Statement

Q3 2008 Key Performance Indicators and Trading Update

888, one of the world's most popular online gaming companies, announces its Interim Management Statement and key performance indicators for the third quarter of 2008 and cumulative results for the nine months ended 30 September 2008.

Highlights: 

• Net Gaming Revenue ('NGR') in Q3 up 23% to US$66 million (Q3 2007: US$53 million)

• Total Operating Income in Q3 up 24% to US$68 million (Q3 2007: US$55 million)

• NGR from Casino in Q3 up 18% to US$34 million (Q3 2007: US$29 million)

• NGR from Poker in Q3 stable at US$19 million (Q3 2007: US$19 million)

• NGR from emerging offering in Q3 up 121% to US$12 million (Q3 2007: US$6 million)

• NGR during the first nine months of the year up 31% to US$197million (Nine months to 30 September 2007: US$151 million)

• Total Operating Income during the first nine months of the year up 33% to US$203 million (Nine months to 30 September 2007: US$152 million)

• Successful launch of the Littlewoods (Sportech) offering following the strategic partnership with Sportech PLC

• Pacific Poker released in four new languages: Russian, Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian with seven further languages to be released shortly; Japanese, Greek, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Romanian,  Hungarian and Czech

• Successful UK Bingo TV campaign 

• 888sport launched in Germany and France

• New games integrated into the 888 offering - Spiderman, Fantastic 4, Bejeweled,  Turbo Hi Lo, Potshot, Gold Medal Mania video slot and Triple Card Poker

Key performance Indicators 

Q3 2008

• NGR up 23% to US$66 million (Q3 2007: US$53 million)

• Total Operating Income up 24% to US$68 million (Q3 2007: US$55 million)

• NGR from Casino in Q3 up 18% to US$34 million (Q3 2007: US$29 million)

• NGR from Poker stable at US$19 million (Q3 2007: US$19 million)

• NGR from emerging offering in Q3 up 121% to US$12 million (Q3 2007: US$6 million)

• Number of active customers in Casino and Poker reached 216,727, an increase of 3% compared to Q3 2007

• NGR per active group customer in Casino and Poker up 8% to US$245 compared to US$227 in Q3 

• Number of active customers in Casino reached 77,949, an increase of 7% compared to Q3 2007

• NGR per active Casino customer up 11% to US$441 compared to US$398 in Q3 2007 

• Number of active customers in Poker reached 169,607, an increase of 1% compared to Q3 2007

• NGR per active Poker customer down 1% to US$110 compared to US$111 in Q3 2007 

Nine months ended 30 September 2008

• NGR up 31% to US$197million (Nine months to 30 September 2007: US$150 million)

• Total Operating Income during the first nine months of the year up 33% to US$203 million (Nine months to 30 September 2007: US$152 million)

• NGR from Casino and Poker up 16% to US$165 million (Nine months to 30 September 2007: US$142 million) 

• NGR from emerging offering up 288% to US$32 million (Nine months to 30 September 2007: US$8 million)

Current Trading

Trading during the traditionally weaker summer months of July and August was solid with Total Operating Income in August growing above July's level. In September, however, global economic conditions and sharp exchange rate movements resulted in lower turnover than August. Whilst Total Operating Income was 24% up on Q3 2007 it was 2% below Q2 2008.

Since July total deposit levels in local currency, (i.e. Sterling, Euro etc.) remained fairly stable. However given the appreciation of the US$ against Sterling and Euro (by c.14% and 16% respectively between August and the end of October) such deposits translated into lower US$ amounts. This has adversely impacted turnover since late August. Conversely, given that most group expenses are linked to non-US$ currencies, which depreciated during the period, the effect on profit was partly mitigated. 

Q4 started slowly, especially given exchange rates, with daily averages below Q3 levels. Trading during the first nine days of November is better than October, driven primarily by Casino and Bingo, with an increase of approximately 8% above October.

Material Events, Transactions and Financial Position

There have been no material events, transactions or changes in the financial position of 888 since the year end other than as set out above. 

Commenting on today's announcement, Gigi Levy, Chief Executive Officer, said:

'We have delivered another quarter of solid performance, which was impacted by the global economic crisis and the extreme volatility in exchange rates. Our underlying business remains as solid as ever, as demonstrated by the constant deposit size by local currency. Despite external adverse economic conditions we are confident in our business model and strategy. Our firm foundation of B2C earnings will be complemented by our growing B2B line of business which will be an increasingly large contributor over the medium term. We look forward to delivering growth this year and beyond.'

Analyst and Investor Conference Call

Gigi Levy, Chief Executive Officer, and Aviad Kobrine, Chief Financial Officer, will be hosting an analyst and investor conference call at 09.30am (GMT) on 17 November 2008.

Dial-in number:	[phone]
Passcode:	2585284

An audio recording of the call will be available on the 888 Holdings website, www.888holdingsplc.com. 

- ends -

Contacts and enquiries:

888
Gigi Levy, Chief Executive Officer	[phone]
Aviad Kobrine, Chief Financial Officer	[phone]
Bell Pottinger Corporate & Financial
Nick Lambert / Andrew Benbow	[phone]

This announcement includes statements that are, or may be deemed to be, 'forward-looking statements'. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty since they relate to future events and circumstances. Forward-looking statements may and often do differ materially from actual results. Any forward-looking statements in this announcement reflect 888's view with respect to future events as at the date of this announcement. Save as required by law or by the Listing Rules of the UK Listing Authority, 888 undertakes no obligation publicly to release the results of any revisions to any forward-looking statements in this announcement that may occur due to any change in its expectations or to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this announcement.

Appendix - KPI comparison

In Millions
KPI*
	Q1 07	Q2 07	Q3 07	Q4 07	Q1 08	Q2 08	Q3 08
Casino & Poker
NGR US$m	$ 46.9	$ 47.8	$ 47.6	$ 56.7	$ 56.9	$ 55.2	$ 53.0
Active players	205,907	208,876	209,811	209,918	213,115	214,725	216,727
NGR per active player	$228	$229	$227	$270	$267	$257	$245
Casino
NGR US$m	$ 26.0	$ 27.9	$ 29.0	$ 35.3	$ 35.0	$ 35.5	$ 34.4
Active players	70,769	72,362	72,847	73,737	77,370	77,837	77,949
NGR per active player	$367	$386	$398	$478	$453	$456	$441
Poker
NGR US$m	$ 20.9	$ 19.9	$ 18.6	$ 21.4	$ 21.9	$ 19.8	$ 18.7
Active players	168,066	166,772	168,105	170,401	170,988	169,898	169,607
NGR per active player	$124	$119	$111	$126	$128	$116	$110
Emerging Offering **
NGR US$m	-	2.5	5.8	6.2	7.6	11.8	12.8
Group NGR US$m	$   46.9	$ 50.3	$ 53.4	$ 62.8	$ 64.5	$ 67.0	$ 65.8
Other operating income **	$    -	$  0.7	$ 1.1	$ 1.7	$ 1.6	$ 2.2	$ 1.9
Total Operating Income	$  46.9	$ 51.0	$ 54.5	$ 64.5	$ 66.1	$ 69.2	$ 67.7
*Rounded
** Reclassified per management accounts

 

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