For some reason whenever you mention the name PartyGaming to someone outside the iGaming industry, they almost immediately think all it is, is a glorified party organizer dabbling in the gaming business. Come on people they don’t champion the fact that they’re “The World’s Leading Listed Online Gaming Company” for no reason. Today they gave everyone in the company and the industry an early Christmas present – their Pre-Close Trading Update. What a treat!
The main headlines from the update were that revenue has been in line with expectations so far this year, casino being their star performer. That offset the poor performance experienced in their poker and bingo sectors.
Prospective regulation in new markets is also something the Group is very interested in. Europe is their main battleground and they identify Germany, Greece, Holland, Denmark and Spain as the territories they are monitoring closest. It also states that “additional gaming taxes and investment may be required to ensure that the Group’s long-term revenue potential is maximised.”
USA is another place in which they are “well advanced in discussions with licensed companies in the US that could create substantial value for the Group’s shareholders.”
Jim Ryan, CEO of the Group, commented: “Revenues in the fourth quarter have enjoyed their usual seasonal upturn. Casino has performed particularly strongly with double-digit revenue growth over the third quarter, although currency movements meant that the uplift in poker has been less pronounced than usual. Clean EBITDA margins are expected to be in line with our previous guidance for 2010.”
Obviously any release by Party or Bwin will include notes on the merger, and this as no different. It updates what we already know, and adding that it is likely to be completed in March 2011.
“The proposed merger with bwin remains on-track to complete at the end of the first quarter and should place the combined group in a strong position to take advantage of the changing regulatory landscape in Europe given its leadership positions across all key product verticals,” Ryan added.
This is all a rather lighter note than the news earlier today that their former executive Anurag Dikshit was given a year’s probation by the US.
