Power Up For Five Months
Before gathering its board and investors for its annual general meeting last week, Irish betting company Paddy Power Plc (PAP.I) revealed that its turnover for the first five months of 2004 was 18 percent higher than that of the same period last year; betting shop turnover alone was up by 23 percent. Paddy Power, like all British betting operators, suffered when horse racing went off the air in the United Kingdom in March, but since live racing resumed on June 11, telephone betting has improved by 14 percent and Internet betting has improved by 7 percent.
Appointment of New Finance Director Leads to Float Speculation
British gaming group Gala, known best for its bingo and casino properties, has appointed Matthew Roberts to replace Blair Sinton as finance director on July 5. Roberts previously served as finance director for department store chain Debenhams, where he assisted the company in de-merging from another company and then later listing on the London Stock Exchange. Analysts speculate that the appointment of Roberts could indicate that Gala plans to float on the stock market.
YooMedia Conquers Digital Dating in the UK
Interactive television and mobile software developer YooMedia Plc (YOO.L) last week acquired a company named One Saturday PLC, which owns dating brands Dateline, Club Sirius and Elite Introductions. Having also acquired Jiles Limited, which owns and operates the dating businesses, Avenues, Clicked and Simply Love, YooMedia Dating is now the largest U.K.-owned online dating business. YooMedia Dating acquired Dateline and Club Sirius for £500,000 cash and 1.5 million ordinary shares of 1 pence in YooMedia. 75 percent of YooMedia Dating will be owned by YooMedia while the remaining 25 percent will be owned by Jiles Limited.
Upcoming Reports
Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. (HET) will discuss its financial results for the second quarter of 2004 through a conference call on July 21. See www.harrahs.com for more information. The company has also amended the terms of its revolving-credit agreement and increased its bank borrowing capacity from $1.96 billion to $2.5 billion.
Reports Released
GTECH Holdings Corporation's (GTK) earnings for the first quarter of 2005, ended May 29, 2004, show that revenue and earnings are in line with the company's expectations. Revenue for the period rose to $280.2 million, up 17 percent from last year's first quarter of $239.6 million. The company enjoyed a net income of $53.6 million ($0.80 per diluted share), which is 30.7 percent higher than last year's $41 million ($0.68 per diluted share). GTECH expects its earnings per share for fiscal 2004 will be between $3.05 and $3.15, rather than the original guidance of $3.00 to $3.10.
GTECH Holdings Corporation - First Quarter Report