Centrebet Boosts Jupiters' Revenue
Jupiters (JUP) is optimistic about its next batch of yearlong results, despite reporting a 14.6 percent decline recently in its interim financials. For the six months to Dec. 31, the Australian gaming company had a net profit of AU $36.2 million--a $6.2 million fall from the corresponding period last year.
Rob Hines, Jupiters' chief executive, attributed the loss to what could turn out to be a negative court ruling on whether the rent on the company's Brisbane hotel and casino is tax deductible.
A bright spot in the group's results is its Internet sports betting site, Centrebet, which brought in revenue of $11.8 million, a 48 percent increase from last year's six-month mark. Hines said he expects the World Cup to give Centrebet a "tremendous boost" in June.
MGAM Trading Options on Amex
Wednesday was the first day of trading for Multimedia Games (MGAM) options on the American Stock Exchange. The interactive bingo company's options opened with strike prices between 25 and 35 and a position of 22,500 contracts. The options will be traded on the January expiration cycle with initial expirations in March, April, July and October.
Ainsworth on Track for Year-End Results
Ainsworth Game Technology (AWG) will meet its financial expectations for the year ending June 30, the company said recently. The gaming machine manufacturer, which is designing casino games for Publishing & Broadcasting's Crowngames.com, is forecasting net profits of AU $952,000 and $55.1 million.
Ainsworth made the announcement less than a day after reporting a loss of $2.85 million for the first half to Dec. 31. Ainsworth has been listed on the Australian Stock Exchange since December. The company's chief executive, Jim O'Mahony, said the next half-year will be a growth period.
"The next six months will be a very exciting time for the company as we tap into new markets and the full impact of our business strategy comes into play," he said.
Penn Raises Stock Offering
Penn National Gaming (PENN) has increased the number of shares available in its recently announced public offering to 4 million from 3.5 million. The common stock shares will be available for $30.50 each.
Two and three-quarters million of the shares are being offered by Penn National Gaming, and the remaining 1.25 million shares will be made available from the Carlino Family Trust, a foundation belonging to the family of Penn's president and CEO, Peter Carlino.
Penn expects to earn $79.1 million from the offering after deducting underwriting discounts and related expenses. The funds will be used to pay debts; however, Penn will not profit from any of the proceeds from sale of the Carlino shares. The offering closes Feb. 20.
SEC Reporting Changes Proposed
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is proposing changes to its corporate disclosure rules as it moves toward an improved financial reporting system.
The proposed rules provide for companies to engage in faster reporting of transactions of company securities by company insiders and faster filing of quarterly and annual reports. The number of events that would require disclosure would include rating agency decisions and lockout periods that affect employee stock-ownership programs.
Sports.com Gets Cash from Crypto
Sports.com is getting a little funding help from CryptoLogic. The U.K. site is receiving $6 million from the I-gaming software company as part of a deal in which Crypto's subsidiary, WagerLogic, will provide a custom sports gambling system for Sports.com.
Under the terms of the agreement, CryptoLogic will receive a stake--how big a stake has not been announced--in Sports.com.
Crypto will also receive perks including preferential advertising and promotions on the site. The two companies will share the revenue generated by the site's gambling activity.
Gaming Insight's Casino Revenue up 300 Percent
British company Gaming Insight said this week that revenue from its casino operations increased more than 300 percent during fiscal 2001.
In addition, the company, which owns ZapCasino, gobarkingmad and Racing-Network.co.uk, said it is still in funding discussions with potential partners for its white-label casino product.
"The casino business continues to exceed our expectations, with turnover up 300 percent year-on-year," said CEO David Sanderson. "We expect this growth to continue as we sign up new partners for our groundbreaking Premium Brand casino."
Gaming Insight's gobarkingmad digital television channel is being tested by Sky digital and is to be launched in the near future, the company said. The group's racing division recently debuted RNlight.com, a racing service for wireless handheld devices and Web TV.
Scientific Games Conference Call Feb. 19
Scientific Games Corp. will host a conference call at 11 a.m. EST on Feb. 19. To participate, call 888-530-1415. A replay of the call will be available on Feb. 22 by dialing 800-642-1687. The passcode is 3256923. The conference will be archived on the Scientific Games Web site for 30 days.
Reports Released
Interactive Systems Worldwide's (ISWI) first-quarter results for the period ended Dec. 31 show jumps in revenue and earnings compared to the corresponding period last year. Revenue rose 69 percent and diluted earnings increased to 5 cents per share from 3 cents per share. Barry Mindes, the company's chairman, said ISWI is encouraged by both its improved results and the upcoming rollout of its SportXction product.
Interactive Systems Worldwide (ISWI) - First Quarter Report
Secure payment provider SureFire (FIR) Commerce recently reported results for its third quarter of fiscal 2002, which ended Dec. 31. Revenue increased 21 percent to $64.7 million from $53.4 million for the same nine-month period last year. For the third quarter alone, revenue amounted to $19.6 million. Last week MasterCard removed itself from the ways in which customers can fund their FirePay e-cash accounts.
SureFire Commerce (FIR) - Third Quarter Report