Rich Asians
Thirty-four-year-old computer engineer and co-founder of PartyGaming Plc (PRTY.L) Anurag Dikshit is ranked third on the 2006 edition of the Asian Rich List, which is composed by Philip Beresford, author of The Sunday Times Rich List. Dikshit's fortune is valued at about £1.7 billion. Also making the list is PartyGaming's marketing director Vikrant Bhargava, whose £592 million fortune ranks in at the No. 7 position.
Reporting
Multi-platform I-gaming software and technology developer Zone4Play Inc. (ZFPI.OB) submitted its annual results for 2005 to the SEC last week after filing a notification of inability to timely file on March 31. The company reported a 38 percent increase in revenues to US$1.06 million, as well as an improvement in operating profit from $641,000 to $762,000, but it still suffered an operating loss of $4 million on the year, $2.5 million of which is attributable to research and development costs. CEO and President Shimon Citron indicated that Z4P is still considering a float on the London's AIM, stating, "We continue to acknowledge the strategic importance of the London public markets given recent developments in the U.K. gaming industry and the increasing demand from U.K. clients for our products and services. During this year we intend to continue to closely evaluate listing of securities on the AIM market."
Zone4Play, Inc. - Year-End Report
Online gaming firm Gaming VC Holdings S.A. (GVCq.L) , which concentrates on the markets in Germany, Spain and Russia, has published its financial results for the year 2005, revealing a turnover of 40.4 million euros and a gross margin of 76 percent for the period. The company also recorded operating profit of 13.4 million euros and pre-tax profit of 12.8 million. The figures from 2004 are not adequate for comparisons since they only reflect 11 days of trading because the company acquired its casino business on Dec. 21, 2004. Gaming VC is paying a final dividend of 21p per share, reportedly believing the payout to be a better use of its cash than acquiring rival firms whose asking prices are more than 20 times their historic earnings.
Gaming VC Holdings S.A. - Year-End Report
GTECH Holdings Corporation (GTK) has announced fourth-quarter and year-end earnings for its fiscal year ended Feb. 25, 2006. Revenues for fiscal 2006 were US$1.3 billion, up 3.8 percent over revenues of $1.26 billion in fiscal 2005. Net income was $211 million, or $1.63 per diluted share, compared to net income of $196.4 million, or $1.50 per diluted share, for the same period last year. GTECH was purchased in January by Italian lotteries company Lotomatica SpA (LTO.MI). The newly-merged firm has a 63 percent share of the international lottery market.
GTECH Holdings Corporation - Year-End Report