Steinberg Provides Statement at AGM
Stanley Leisure Organization's (SLY.L) chairman, Lord Steinberg, stated at his company's annual general meeting on Sept. 10 that the new financial year (beginning May 2004) has started well and that the group's operations are meeting expectations. The betting division is off to a satisfactory start, he said, with profits from fixed-odds betting terminals continuing to grow, offsetting the reduced margins in the traditional retail betting business. The company's London-based casinos have significantly improved over their performance last year; both drop and win margin have recovered to more typical levels.
TVG Sells Its Shares of Youbet.com
ODS Technologies, a subsidiary of Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. (GMST) that does business as TVG Network, has sold its holdings in Youbet.com (UBET). The transaction does not affect the business relationship between Youbet and TVG Network. The sale has significantly increased the number of Youbet shares held by long-term institutional investors, with approximately 5 million Youbet shares changing hands. ODS filed a lawsuit against Youbet last year claiming that Youbet attempted to prevent ODS from exercising a warrant that would give it majority control over the company. The case was settled in September 2003, and OCS opted not to redeem the warrant before its expiration period.
Ebex Completes Second Round of Financing
The European Betting Exchange Plc, or Ebex, a joint venture between CES Software Pld (CES.L) and BETandWIN.com Interactive Entertainment AG (BWIN.VI), has completed its second round of financing with a private placement through Canaccord Capital (Europe) Ltd. Ebex will use the £433,332 gained through the private placement plus an additional £250,000 granted by a large shareholder to launch "Betbull," a European betting exchange. The company has enlisted the help of Erste Bank to obtain another round of funding and a listing on the Vienna Stock Exchange in autumn.
Reports Released
William Hill Plc's (WMH.L) interim results for the six months ended June 30 show steep rises across the board, including a 42 percent rise in overall turnover to £3.87 billion, up from £2.74 billion over the same period last year. Overall gross win for the company reached £382.1 million. Gross win through telephone betting rose 22 percent to £34.6 million, and gross win through gaming at William Hill's interactive services--sports book, arcade, casino and poker--grew 37 percent to £52.9 million.
Growth has slowed in the second half, however, due to a number of favorites winning at the race tracks, and as a result, the group's gross win has fallen 18 percent in the first half to 8 percent.
William Hill Plc - Interim Report
Rank's results for the first half-year show that Blue Square, the Internet and phone betting company acquired by The Rank Group Plc (RNK.L) in January 2003, brought in £198.2 million in turnover, an improvement over the £179.2 million acquired over the same period last year. Blue Square's operating profit before goodwill rose to £1.3 million from £900,000. Overall, Rank recorded turnover of £931.4 million on the period, up from £879.9 million last year.
The Rank Group Plc - Interim Report