15 Million New Ordinary Shares of ukbetting
On June 10, ukbetting plc (UKB) announced that 15 million new ordinary shares valued at 1 pence each were placed with institutional investors and private places. The placement was conditional on the shares being effected by June 13 at a price of 29 pence per share.
The company is trying to raise £4.35 million to be used as working capital to specifically focus on strengthening the balance sheet. The funds will also be used to launch new gambling products including casino games, poker, American horse race pools, and ukbetting and Totalbet balls-type games.
Penn National Gaming Updates Q2 Guidance
Penn National Gaming (PENN) recently announced that its second-quarter operating results turned out better than expected due to growth at many of its gaming properties during the first quarter of 2003.
The company, which also offers online horse racing in states where that activity is legal, said it would have to use a variety of methods to mitigate an increase in Illinois taxes including layoffs, reductions in marketing and promotion and admission fees.
The company stated that its updated second-quarter guidance includes $1 million in pre-tax, one-time costs associated with the implementation of a cost savings package. The costs were connected to severance packages, and legal and other professional costs. The company also lists a pre-payment of $45.5 million of principal on its senior credit facility on June 2.
Penn National said the guidance does not make allowances for changes in the economic climate or the legislative scene.
Chartwell Revenue up in Q2
Chartwell Technology Inc. (CWH) said on June 12 that its total revenue for the second quarter of 2003 increased 125 percent to CA$1,946,497 from $865,810 during the same time last year.
The Calgary-based gambling software provider said its revenue for the first half ended April 30 totaled $3,637,973, representing a 185 percent increase from $1,273,153 during the first six months of fiscal 2002.
License fee revenue for the first six months of the year was $2,760,048, a 210 percent increase from the license fee revenue of $876,305 during the same period last year.
Expenses for the second quarter were $1,793,634; that figure includes a currency translation cost of $382,876 that occurred when the Canadian dollar gained value against the American dollar. Net income for the first half of the year was $500,476 or four cents per share. That compares to a loss of $1,345,070 or nine cents per share last year.
Darold Parken, president and CEO, said the strong revenue growth means that the company is staying true to its business model by concentrating its energies on its gaming systems.
"This quarter marks an important milestone for the company where licensee fee revenues exceed operational expenses achieving the initial profitability target which we will now build on," he said. "We look forward to continued revenue growth in future quarters as the company expands its European client base and deploys additional technologies such as its wireless gaming system and its multiplayer poker and bingo products to provide additional revenue streams and corresponding profit for the company."
AngelCiti Breaks Company Record in May
AngelCiti Entertainment (OTC BB: AGLC) said last week that it achieved a company record for gross monthly win in May. The group, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Worldwide Management, processed a net handle of $5,666,409 in May and had a net win of $301,326.
George Gutierrez, the company's president, said May results are the right way to kick off the summer.
"We are delighted with our results for May," he said. "We continue to offer new and innovative games, which players are responding to well, and we hope to continue this positive momentum as we move into the traditionally slower months. We're implementing many effective new internal systems to enable the company to operate more efficiently and profitably as we seek to expand and absorb our corporate growth."
Gaming Insight Suspended from AIM
The Financial Times reported last week that shares of Gaming Insight (GIN) were suspended from trading on the Alternative Investment Market on June 11.
The suspension was due to funding problems at the company's greyhound racing television channel, Red Button Racing (formerly Gobarkingmad).
The channel is available on BskyB's digital television service. Prior to focusing on its greyhound race betting efforts, Gaming Insight also operated the Harrods online gambling Web site.