32Red Plc - Trading Update

[rainmaker]

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32redlogo.png

(Some days old - 07:00 26-Jan-2012- so sorry if it has been posted before)



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32Red Plc
("32Red" or "the Company")

Trading Update

32Red Plc, the award-winning online gaming operator, is pleased to provide an update on trading for the year ended 31 December 2011.



2011 Summary

The Company is delighted to report record revenues in 2011, up 48% to £25.0m (2010: £16.9m). This growth is particularly encouraging in light of the strong 2010 comparative figures that were, in turn, 33% ahead of 2009. Consequently, 32Red's 2011 revenues are 96% ahead of those recorded in 2009.

Trading update 32.jpg

Casino Performance

Overall performance is once again dominated by the growth in the 32Red Casino which has been driven by significant new player recruitment throughout the year, particularly during the last quarter.

Excluding acquisitions, a total of 27,648 new depositing players* were recruited in 2011, up 42% on 2010 at an average cost per acquisition of £143 (2010: £133). We will continue to grow marketing investment and believe this performance will have a positive effect on activity levels in 2012 and beyond.

This accelerated new player recruitment has resulted in total active depositing players* increasing by 39% to 39,687 during the year, with average yield per depositing active player up to £550 (2010: £519).

Despite the further increased levels of marketing spend throughout the second half of the year, the continued strengthening of revenue growth will result in 32Red Plc delivering profits comfortably ahead of current market expectations for 2011.



Current Trading and Outlook for 2012

Trading in 2012 to date has been strong across the Company's products with Gross Win for the first twenty-four days in January up 67% on the corresponding period in 2011.

The Company is also pleased to announce that it has applied for an Italian remote gaming licence and, if successful, intends to commit marketing and operational resources in 2012 to gain a foothold in the Italian online casino market.


Commenting on the performance, Ed Ware, CEO of 32Red, said:

"2011 has been another year of progress and the sustained top line growth is encouragement to continue to invest in marketing the 32Red brand. Meanwhile, we will take measures to ensure that the level of service and support we provide to our players remains our point of difference and bolsters retention.


We were thrilled to be recognised by eGaming Review as Casino Operator of the Year in November 2011 and we are also very proud to have recently been awarded GamCare Certification. Once again, the player forum and fair play advocate, Casinomeister, has bestowed the prestigious title of Casino Operator of the Year upon us for the ninth consecutive year, which is deeply gratifying for everyone in the team.

Although we recognise the potential for uncertainty in the economy at home and abroad, we look forward to further progress during 2012. We also believe Italy represents a good opportunity for 32Red to establish itself as a leading remote gaming operator in a new market and we maintain a watching brief on other regulatory developments around the world."



The Group will announce its preliminary results on Wednesday, 7 March 2012.



26 January 2012



* In previous periods, the Company has reported the number of players by defining a player as a customer who has placed a real money bet during the period. The Company feels it is now more relevant to users of the accounts to amend the definition of a player to a customer who has played for real money but has also made a deposit during the period. This new definition is used in today's trading statement. For reference, under the old definition the number of new players in 2011 totalled 56,178 (2010: 21,853) and the number of active players who placed a real money bet in 2011 totalled 68,217 (2010: 30,933).



Enquiries:

[rainmaker]

.

For those who are interested, they also released a court case update last week:

32Red Plc ("32Red" or "the Company")

William Hill Appeal Dismissed

Following a six day trial in October 2010 in the High Court, judgment was handed down in January 2011 detailing 32Red's success in its trade mark action against members of the William Hill group ("William Hill"). As a result of that successful action, the William Hill-owned 32Vegas business was held to have infringed two of 32Red's European community trade marks. William Hill's counterclaim that the "32Red" and "32" trade marks should be invalidated, failed. Subsequently, the judge ordered that 32Red be granted an injunction against William Hill and ordered an inquiry to assess monetary damages, which is ongoing.



William Hill appealed this decision and a hearing took place in the Court of Appeal on 5th and 6th December 2011. The Court of Appeal described William Hill's case as a "full-scale, wide-ranging attack on the Judge's analysis and conclusions on virtually every aspect of his judgment". In a Judgment handed down today, the whole of William Hill's appeal against the trial judge's decision was dismissed.



Additionally, the Appeal court went further than the High Court and found that William Hill also infringed 32Red's registered trade mark for "32" and held that a further reason for finding infringement was that William Hill took unfair advantage of 32Red's well known trade marks.



In summary, and following approximately three years of argument, liability is now firmly established as follows:

· The "32Red" and "32" trade marks are valid

· The "32Red" marks were infringed by William Hill's use of 32Vegas

· The "32" mark was infringed by William Hill's use of 32Vegas

· The use of 32Vegas took unfair advantage of 32Red's trade marks



The costs associated with the Appeal, along with interest, have been awarded to 32Red and an initial sum of £70,000 is payable to 32Red within 14 days. The level of damages relating to this case and the liability for costs associated with the original Hearing will be assessed in an inquiry process before the High Court, now scheduled to be heard early in 2013.



The full Appeal Judgment will be available at http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2012/19.html



Commenting on the result, Ed Ware, CEO of 32Red, said:



"We are delighted that the Court of Appeal has categorically dismissed William Hill's appeal. The success of our cross-appeal is also very satisfying. Quite correctly, the Court of Appeal's judgment also supported the view that taking advantage of a well known brand such as 32Red is not acceptable.



This judgment further underlines our Intellectual Property Rights and should deter other operators from infringing our trade marks. We are now focused on concluding this matter with William Hill and have already begun preparations for the inquiry into damages.''





24 January 2012



Enquiries:

[Seventh777]

and an initial sum of £70,000 is payable to 32Red

What`s the w/r on that ? .

[Simmo!]

What`s the w/r on that ? .

32x d'uh

[Slotster!]

Shame on a massive organisation like Will Hill for getting embroiled in something like this... What happened to their due diligence!? Like I said elsewhere - 32Vegas doesn't even make any sense unless it's a blatant attempt to confuse the user.

[Seventh777]

On a more serious note I would say that Swansea`s rise to the premiership has had a significant bearing on the influx of new players.

[Seventh777]

32x d'uh

Lol, how entertaining would it be if William Hill refused to pay and 32Red PAB`d them .

[Nate]

Lol, how entertaining would it be if William Hill refused to pay and 32Red PAB`d them .

LOL - Or better still refusing to pay citing the 'Spirit of the Industry' clause.

Mark_32Red best get his documents sent to them ASAP or else they might hold it pending for 30 days. Better hope you don't need to notarise them and send them to the Philippines.

If all else fails - Please PAB as suggested by Seventh777 ... Please make sure to read the FAQ and stop posting before you do so

Nate

[bsilva028]

LOL - Or better still refusing to pay citing the 'Spirit of the Industry' clause.

Mark_32Red best get his documents sent to them ASAP or else they might hold it pending for 30 days. Better hope you don't need to notarise them and send them to the Philippines.

If all else fails - Please PAB as suggested by Seventh777 ... Please make sure to read the FAQ and stop posting before you do so

Nate

with the PAB solved in 32h, 32 minutes and 32 seconds

lol

[vinylweatherman]

32Red constantly offer 50% and 100% bonuses almost every day, and no "silly rules", yet they have INCREASED their revenue and profits during the 2 years they have been offering daily bonuses at this level. Other operators can't come close to offering this level of bonus, and even the bonuses they do offer are often riddled with "silly rules" that allow confiscation of winnings in a wide variety of circumstances, yet they often struggle to make a decent profit, and quite a few have folded and been rescued by other operators (well, mostly Casino Rewards, with Palace group and 32Red snatching a few scraps).