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22 Oct 2010 07:00
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22 October 2010
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PartyGaming Plc
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("PartyGaming" or the "Company" and, together with its subsidiaries, the "Group")
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Third Quarter Key Performance Indicators and Interim Management Statement
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Third quarter highlights
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Γ Group revenue[1] up 9% to β¬85.3m (2009: β¬78.3m) with growth in all products except poker
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Γ Casino revenue up 2% to β¬34.9m (2009: β¬34.2m), driven by content and jackpot improvements on PartyCasino
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Γ Poker revenue down 5% to β¬29.6m (2009: β¬31.3m) with continued pressure from US-facing sites partially mitigated by growth in newly regulated markets
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Γ Bingo revenue up 36% to β¬13.1m (2009: β¬9.6m) driven by the acquisition of Cashcade
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Γ Sports Betting revenue up 86% to β¬5.4m (2009: β¬2.9m) on the back of both increased turnover and gross win margins
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Γ Current trading improving on the back of seasonality, in-line with expectations
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Γ Bwin merger proceeding as planned; Simon Duffy confirmed as Chairman-elect of the merged company
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Commenting on today's announcement, Jim Ryan, Chief Executive Officer, said:
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"Total revenue was up by 9% year-on-year with growth in all products except poker, despite the impact of having closed our French casino business at the end of June 2010. Excluding French casino, total revenue would have been up by 12% year-on-year, driven by casino growth in other markets, acquisitions and a strong performance in sports betting.
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"We have been encouraged by the strong start from our nascent French poker network that went live on 1 July 2010. A strong performance by PartyPoker in France has been further boosted by the launch of PMU's poker business in France as well as services for AB Groupe and Aviation Club de France.
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"I am also pleased to report that the proposed merger with bwin remains on track to complete at the end of Q1 2011, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals and I am delighted that Simon Duffy has agreed to become Chairman of the Enlarged Group on completion, as detailed in a separate press release issued today."
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On current trading he added:
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"In respect of current trading since the end of September, we have begun to see the normal seasonal upturn, in-line with the Board's expectations, and we remain confident about the full year outlook." Consolidated Key Performance Indicators (excluding network services and WPT)
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Three months to 30 September |
2010 |
% change versus Q2 2010 |
% change versus Prior year |
2009 |
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Active player days (m) |
7.3 |
(8%) |
0% |
7.3 |
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Daily average players (000) |
79.4 |
(8%) |
0% |
79.2 |
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Yield per active player day (β¬) |
11.4 |
1% |
7% |
10.7 |
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Yield per unique active player in the quarter (β¬) |
121.3 |
18% |
13% |
107.4 |
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Real money sign-ups (000) |
212.5 |
(2%) |
2% |
208.0 |
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Unique active players during the period (000) |
683.9 |
(20%) |
(6%) |
726.3 |
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Average net daily revenue (excluding skins) (β¬000) |
901.8 |
(7%) |
6% |
848.3 |
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The Group delivered a solid year-on-year performance in what is typically the softest quarter of the year. Factors affecting performance in the period included the transition to a regulated market in France, solid casino growth in other markets, a full contribution from Cashcade and strong growth in sports betting. As a result, consolidated average net daily revenue, excluding network services and WPT, rose by 6% to β¬901,800 (2009: β¬848,300). Including network services and WPT, average net daily revenue rose by 9% to β¬927,600 (2009: β¬851,600).
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We continue to grow our consolidated player base with 212,500 new sign-ups added during the quarter (2009: 208,000), a 2% increase over the prior year. The closure of the French casino and a competitive poker market meant that while bingo and sports betting each delivered year-on-year increases in both active player days and daily average players, on a consolidated basis both metrics were flat versus the prior year. Yield per active player day increased by 7%, with increases in each product vertical versus the prior year.
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Despite the absence of any French casino revenue in the quarter[2], casino remained the Group's largest product vertical in terms of revenue in the period. Average daily casino revenue increased by 2% to β¬379,400 (2009: β¬371,700) driven by higher yields per player. PartyCasino was the driver of the group's casino growth in the quarter.
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In poker, while the dot.com poker market remains challenging given competitive pressures from the US-facing sites, our performance in France has been strong. Average daily players on our French network have increased every month since launch on 1 July 2010 and in September were averaging 9,700 players per day - more than six times the average daily number in the second quarter of 2010. The market share of our poker network in France is over 12% and is the fourth largest, according to Pokersitescout.com[3].
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While we still expect poker cash games as well as online casino games to become licensed activities in Italy, the exact timing of their introduction remains unclear and it now seems unlikely that it will occur before the end of the first quarter of 2011.
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Overall, average daily poker revenue declined by 4% versus the prior quarter to β¬321,400 (2009: β¬340,500) reflecting seasonality and continued competitive pressures in the dotcom markets, mitigated somewhat by the encouraging start in France.
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Bingo performed strongly with a 36% increase in average daily revenue to β¬142,300 (2009: β¬104,300) although seasonality meant it was down 2% versus the previous quarter. The substantial increase year-on-year was primarily driven by the acquisition of Cashcade that was purchased in July 2009.
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In sports betting average daily revenue increased by 86% year-on-year to β¬58,600 (2009: β¬31,500) on the back of higher turnover from the World Cup as well as continued improvements in our risk management. This helped to drive gross win margins to 8.2% (2009: 5.1%) that also benefited from a favourable run of football results in August across all the major football leagues.
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Revenue from the World Poker Tour was flat versus the previous quarter at β¬1.7m whilst revenue from Network Services almost doubled to β¬0.6m.
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Current Trading
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Since the end of September we have begun to see the normal seasonal pick-up, in-line with the Board's expectations and we remain confident about the full year outlook. In the 19 days ended 19 October 2010, average gross daily revenue was up 3% versus the third quarter of 2010 to β¬1,396,100 (Q310: β¬1,361,500) reflecting growth in newly regulated markets as well as the normal seasonal pattern, partially offset by the closure of our casino to French players.
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In casino, average gross daily revenue was up 8% to β¬552,500 (Q310: β¬510,100). In poker, average gross daily poker revenue was up 5% to β¬459,000 (Q310: β¬437,700). In bingo, average gross daily revenue was down 7% to β¬313,900 (Q310: β¬338,500) and in sports betting, average gross daily revenue was down 6% to β¬70,700 (Q310 β¬75,200).
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Material Events, Transactions and Financial Position
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As at 30 September 2010, the Group had total cash (and cash equivalents) of β¬185.0m and processor receivables of β¬14.4m. Bank borrowings and other loans totalled β¬40.2m and client liabilities (including progressive prize pools) amounted to β¬89.0m.
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There have been no material events, transactions or changes in the financial position of the Group since the 2010 half-year results were announced on 6 August 2010 other than outlined in this statement.
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As usual, full details of all of the Group's quarterly KPI data by segment is available for download at the Group's website at http://www.partygaming.com/investor/documentation.html.
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Contacts:
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PartyGaming Plc |
+44 (0) 20 7337 0100 |
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Peter Reynolds, Group Director of Corporate Affairs |
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John Shepherd, Director of Corporate Communications |
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Conference call
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Friday 22 October 2010
For analysts and investors there will be an opportunity to put questions to Jim Ryan, Chief Executive Officer and Martin Weigold, Group Finance Director, by way of a conference call at 09.30 (British Summer Time). The details of the call are as follows:
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Dial-In No: |
+44 (0) 203 003 2666 |
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Replay (available for 1 week): |
+44 (0) 208 196 1998 |
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Replay passcode: |
9762887# |
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Appendix
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Casino - Key Performance Indicators
|
Three months to 30 September |
2010 |
% change versus Q2 2010 |
% change versus prior year |
2009 |
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Active player days (000) |
889.0 |
(11%) |
(9%) |
972.2 |
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Daily average players (000) |
9.7 |
(11%) |
(8%) |
10.6 |
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Yield per active player day (β¬) |
39.3 |
(2%) |
12% |
35.2 |
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Yield per unique active player in the quarter (β¬) |
210.1 |
(4%) |
6% |
198.6 |
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Real money sign-ups (000) |
17.7 |
(29%) |
(23%) |
22.9 |
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Unique active players during the period (000) |
166.1 |
(9%) |
(4%) |
172.2 |
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Average net daily revenue (excl. skins) (β¬000) |
379.4 |
(13%) |
2% |
371.7 |
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Poker (including Emerging Games) - Key Performance Indicators
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Three months to 30 September |
2010 |
% change versus Q2 2010 |
% change versus prior year |
2009 |
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Active player days (m) |
4.2 |
(9%) |
(9%) |
4.6 |
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Daily average players (000) |
46.1 |
(9%) |
(9%) |
50.4 |
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Yield per active player day (β¬) |
7.0 |
6% |
3% |
6.8 |
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Yield per unique active player in the quarter (β¬) |
71.0 |
5% |
(1%) |
71.9 |
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Real money sign-ups (000) |
128.3 |
9% |
7% |
120.1 |
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Unique active players during the period (000) |
416.3 |
(8%) |
(4%) |
435.5 |
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Average net daily revenue (excl. skins) (β¬000) |
321.4 |
(4%) |
(6%) |
340.5 |
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Bingo - Key Performance Indicators
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Three months to 30 September |
2010 |
% change versus Q2 2010 |
% change versus prior year |
2009 |
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Active player days (000) |
1,884.0 |
1% |
30% |
1,448.5 |
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Daily average players (000) |
20.5 |
0% |
31% |
15.7 |
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Yield per active player day (β¬) |
7.0 |
(1%) |
6% |
6.6 |
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Yield per unique active player in the quarter (β¬) |
81.2 |
77% |
61% |
50.5 |
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Real money sign-ups (000) |
53.9 |
(8%) |
11% |
48.4 |
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Unique active players during the period (000) |
161.3 |
(44%) |
(15%) |
190.1 |
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Average net daily revenue (excl. skins) (β¬000) |
142.3 |
(2%) |
36% |
104.3 |
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Sports Betting - Key Performance Indicators
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Three months to 30 September |
2010 |
% change versus Q2 2010 |
% change versus prior year |
2009 |
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Active player days (000) |
788.4 |
(17%) |
2% |
772.2 |
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Daily average players (000) |
8.6 |
(17%) |
2% |
8.4 |
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Yield per active player day (β¬) |
6.8 |
26% |
79% |
3.8 |
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Yield per unique active player in the quarter (β¬) |
69.3 |
18% |
83% |
37.9 |
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Real money sign-ups (000) |
12.5 |
(20%) |
(25%) |
16.6 |
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Unique active players during the period (000) |
77.8 |
(11%) |
1% |
77.2 |
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Average net daily revenue (β¬000) |
58.6 |
3% |
86% |
31.5 |
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[1] Includes β¬1.7m of WPT revenue and β¬0.6m from network services and InterTrader.com
[2] France generated β¬2.2m of net casino revenue in the second quarter of 2010 and β¬1.9m in the third quarter of 2009
[3] Source: Pokersitescout.com 7 day average concurrent users as at 20 October 2010
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