TTR.L Regulatory News (TTR)

23 Oct 2006 07:01

32Red Plc23 October 2006 32Red Plc ("the Company") Trading and Strategy Update October 2006 Further to the Company's half year trading announcement on 31 August, 32Redtoday provides an update on its performance during the third quarter of 2006ended 30 September. Additionally 32Red reports on the Company's strategicprogress. Key financials: • Total revenues for Q3 increased by 55.8% to £4.2m (Q3 2005: £2.7m) including contribution from the recently acquired BetDirect business • Casino revenues for the Q3 decreased approximately 10% on Q3 2005 due to the widely reported industry-wide issues across the summer • Poker revenues rose by 77% against the corresponding period in 2005 to £0.4 million. • Since the summer there has been a steady recovery in both poker and 0casino. This trend has continued in the current quarter with daily average performance for both gross win and new player recruitment in October across# both the casino and poker platforms encouraging • Bet Direct revenues of £1.57m in Q3 2006. Integration of Bet Direct continues apace, online sportsbetting platform migrated to Gibraltar. New casino and poker platforms in place. • Withdrawal from US market on 13 October 2006. EBIT from USA in H106 is not material to group performance. Bet Direct continues its longstanding zero exposure to the USA. • Strong, established UK presence. Expanded but focused marketing in the UK (including the sponsorship of Aston Villa) and the acquisition of BetDirect will be key to the Company's performance going forward. Key Performance Indicators: • Active customers in Q3 2006 grew to 49,898 (Q3 2005: 6,708) - Casino active players - 8,932, up 133 % on 2005- Poker active players - 7,695, up 168 % on 2005- Bet Direct active customers - 33,271 active in Quarter 3 2006 • New casino players increased by 185 % to 5,452 (2005: 1,915) • New poker players increased by 138 % to 3,812 (2005: 1,603) • Total new Bet Direct customers of 9,724 • Q3 casino player yield of £251, poker player yield of £52 (Q2 2006: casino of £396; poker of £39) • Cost per acquisition for 32Red (including affiliate costs) of casino £137 and poker £21, compared to first half 2006 of casino £160 and poker £31. Ed Ware, CEO commented: "We are pleased to report that the business has continued to recover from theindustry-wide dip experienced in and around the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Recenttrends in the business are encouraging and our daily average performance inactivity rates, revenues and new real money players are progressing. We arecurrently experiencing particularly strong levels of new real money playersign-ups at the casino and poker room supported by our sponsorship of AstonVilla which has markedly increased brand recognition and our profile." Much has been achieved at Bet Direct and its integration and development remainson track. The online sportsbook was successfully migrated to Gibraltar inSeptember and 32Red took control of the vital URL, www.betdirect.com, on 1stOctober. A review of Bet Direct's pricing and liability management strategy isin progress and areas of margin improvement have already been identified andacted upon. 32Red is an established player in the UK market and the recent developments inrespect of the American market supports our longstanding strategy of marketingthe brand to the UK audience. The Board believes that our strong UK presencethrough the 32Red brand, our sponsorship of Aston Villa and the recentacquisition of Bet Direct positions the Group well for continued development andprogress. 23 October 2006 Enquiries 32Red Plc Tel: 00 35 049 396 Ed Ware, CEO College Hill Associates Tel: 020 7457 2020 Matthew Smallwood Notes to Editors 32Red is an award-winning UK focussed online casino and poker operator licensed,regulated and based in Gibraltar. The Company is allied to best of breedpartners including Microgaming Software Systems, BarclayCard Merchant Servicesand GibTele.Com. For the past 3 years 32Red has been awarded Best Casino byWatchdog and Player Advocate site Casinomeister. The Company attracts players from around the world but has a predominantly UKplayer base, with the majority of revenues at www.32red.com andwww.32redpoker.com coming from the UK. On 23rd September 2005 the Company listed on the London Stock Exchange'sAlternative Investment Market. In the first half of 2006 the Company completedthe acquisition of UK sportsbetting and gaming firm, Bet Direct(www.betdirect.com), and became official main club sponsor to FA PremiershipClub Aston Villa. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange