Betfair Rumored as the Latest Company to Ponder an IPO
The Sunday Times reported this week that British betting exchange Betfair has appointed investment bank NM Rothschild to advise on its strategic options, including a float which could potentially net £700 million. Betfair spokesperson Mark Davies has dismissed a possible public offering as pure speculation and stated that such a move is at least one year away. Betfair is believed to have a 90 percent share of the British betting exchange market. For the financial year ended April 30th, 2004 the company reported £66.7 million in revenues and £13.3 million in pre-tax profits.
CrytoLogic Added to S&P/TSX Index
I-gaming software provider CryptoLogic Inc (CRY.TO) has been added to the S&P/TSX Composite Index. Standard & Poor's has added CryptoLogic to the main S&P/TSX Composite Index and to the S&P/TSX SmallCap Index in the information technology sector.
Reports Released
Germany-based FLUXX AG (FXXG), a betting and lotteries company whose services include jaxx.de, interjockey.com, and Telewette, has released its financial figures for the year 2004. The company posted a 10 percent increase in gross sales to 90.7 million euro, a 32 percent increase in revenues to 17.7 million euro and a 64 percent increase in EBITDA to 2.4 million euro. The company says it expects to see continued growth in 2005.
FLUXX AG - Annual Report
Bingo.com Inc (BIGR.OB), operator of web portal bingo.com, has released its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2004. The company received $389,921 in revenue for the fourth quarter, an increase of 42 percent compared to the same period in 2003, and $63,591 in profit during the quarter, an improvement of 42 percent. The entire yearly revenue for 2004 rose 30 percent to $1.16 million. While the company ended the year with a net loss of $71,640-- which is a 70 percent improvement on last year's net loss of $235,491—it achieved significant improvement in the fourth quarter, reporting $63,591 in net profit, compared to a net loss of $26,095 during the same period last year.
Bingo.com Inc - Annual Report
Betbull - The European Betting Exchange Plc (BETB.VI) has made its consolidated financial statement, directors' report, independent auditors' report and more for the year ended December 31st 2004 available on the company's new website, betbullplc.com. The company-- a joint venture between betandwin.com Interactive Entertainment AG and Fun Technologies Plc (formerly know as CES Software Plc)-- posted a net loss of $3.5 million euros for the year 2004, a figure that was significantly below market expectations. Betbull said its expenses and costs were low because its first marketing attempts yielded relatively low customer activity, and the company therefore drastically reduced its direct marketing spending. Analysis conducted by Betbull in continental Europe suggests that the target customer base in continental Europe is not ready to begin using betting exchange formats. For now the company will focus on partnering with bookmakers and racing associations that want to expand their offerings with a betting exchange product.
betfull – The European Betting Exchange Plc - Annual Report