32Red Bound For Gibraltar

Published: Sunday, January 28, 2007 Online-Casinos.com

32RED BOUND FOR GIBRALTAR

Trading update reports disappointing player yields

Shares prices in the popular 32 Red online gambling group took a knock this week when the company reported disappointing per player yields in its trading update. The latest stats from the company show a 45 percent decline on per player yields in the casino product compared with last year's report.

Casino yield per player was down 45 percent to £467 while yield per poker player was down 30 percent to £82 on 2005. Customer yield on the company's Bet Direct sportsbetting acquisition stood at £75. The statement said: "With new player recruitment levels reaching record levels during the year, player yields suffered although performance did recover in the last quarter."

The statement showed the number of active casino players was up 90 percent on 2005 to 20 184, while active poker players were up 161 percent to 18 272. Total casino revenues were up 5 percent to £9.42 million and poker revenues were up to £1.5 million. Bet Direct revenues stood at £3.45 million since acquisition.

The statement follows a profit warning in December where the company said poor trading in its Bet Direct division had resulted in the company breaching its banking covenant.

The company confirmed that all or part of the Bet Direct business would be re-located to Gibraltar from the UK in the first half of this year.

Ed Ware, chief executive of 32Red, said: "2006 has been a transitional year for the company following the acquisition of Bet Direct in June. Although the business has suffered from abnormal sporting results during 2006, we are pleased with the acquisition and are encouraged by the opportunities presented by it."