32 RED RESULTS OUT

16 March 2007

But Betdirect has a tough year and profits are lower

The widely respected British betting group 32Red.com released its full year results this week, showcasing financial highlights that included net gaming win of GBP14.4 million (2005: GBP9.77 million) and gross profit of GBP4.36 million, down on last year's GBP3.49 million.

The company recorded losses of GBP3.74 million for the period, compared with profits before tax of GBP1.3 million in 2005, and attributes the annual losses to an ‘abnormally high' number of winning favourites in UK horseracing markets and unfavourable Champions League football results.

Online casino revenues came in at GBP9.42 million (2005: GBP8.9 million) and poker revenues were up at GBP1.5 million, compared with GBP 840 000 in 2005.

New customers for 2006 totalled 84 595, with the number of active casino and poker players rising 90 percent to 20 184 and 161 percent to 18 272 respectively. The company said that with such a large influx of new customers it was unsurprising that annual casino and poker player yields were down 46 percent to GBP453 and 30 percent to GBP73 respectively.

Chief executive Ed Ware said: “2006 has been a year of transition for the company: we have continued to grow our casino and poker platforms and acquired a strategically important sportsbook operation. Integration with our other businesses will be complete by June 2007 delivering the planned benefits of significant cost savings and improving our ability to migrate players across platforms and games.” 32Red added that it expected the Betdirect sports betting operation to be fully relocated to Gibraltar from Liverpool by June 2007.

32Red also announced it had renegotiated its banking facility with Royal Bank of Scotland (see previous InfoPowa reports) and had entered into a revised loan facility of GBP3.5 million. The company proposes to raise GBP3 million through institutional and investor placings.

Together with a cost-cutting move to Gibraltar, 32Red has invested in rebranding. Matt Booth, the head of marketing said, “We will be focusing on creating a distinctive brand that builds a long-lasting relationship with both existing and new customers.”

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa

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