Sportingbet Delays Fiscal Report During Poker Negotiations, Shares Rise
London-based gaming company Sportingbet Plc (SBT.L) has postponed the announcement of its financial results for the 16 months ended July 31, along with a substantial fund-raising exercise, because it is in advanced talks to acquire a new online poker business that already has a broad user base. The company says its financial results will be in line with expectations, with operating profit before goodwill to be over £21.7 million. Sportingbet shares have risen 10p since the announcement on Monday.
BetOnSports Delivers First Fiscal Report Since AIM Float
BetOnSports Plc (BSS.L) has revealed its first interim report as a publicly traded company on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange. Among some of the company's highlights for the period are an initial public offering in July that raised $44 million after costs, the buyout of 49 percent minority in Millennium companies for $25 million and a pre-tax increase of 7.3 percent in profit to $4.4 million compared to $4.1 million over the same period a year ago. Earnings per share also increased by 6 percent to 5.3 cents from 5 cents in the previous period. The group's turnover fell from $429 million over the first interim of 2003 to $403 million over the equivalent interim in 2004. The company successfully launched an online poker platform this month.
Ticket Sales Rising for Camelot
Camelot, operator of the U.K. National Lottery, reports that ticket sales for the last six months have risen by 4.7 percent to £2.34 billion compared to sales of £2.25 billion over the same period last year. The numbers also indicate that the lottery is growing less reliant on the main lotto draws: Lotto sales grew only 0.7 percent to £1.6 billion, while sales of non-lotto games jumped up 14 percent to nearly £749 million. Just this week Camelot added text-messaging as an option with which players can participate in the lottery. Players can enter the lotto, EuroMillions or Daily Play games through text messaging-enabled mobile phones.
Acquisition for ukbetting
Sports content and online betting company ukbetting (UKB.L) has purchased Campbell's Bookmakers Ltd for £1.2 million, a deal that will be funded through a senior debt facility. The company will be acquiring seven licensed betting offices in London and the South East of England with an annual revenue rate of £10 million and are expected to be profitable in the year ended Dec. 3, 2004. ukbetting's executive chairman, Peter Dubens, said the company plans to "substantially increase the size of this nascent portfolio" through agreements with third parties.
Reports Released
The New Zealand Lotteries Commission reported huge improvements for its fiscal year ended June 30, 2004. Sales for the year grew 16.4 percent to $628.8 million, which combined with low operating expenses, resulted in a profit of $133.45 million--an increase of 24 percent--for the commission. The successful year enabled the commission to transfer $118.45 million to the Lottery Grants Board to fund arts, sports and community projects in New Zealand.
New Zealand Lotteries Commission - Annual Report