888 Holdings See Profits Tumble
888 Holdings the name behind online bingo site 888 Ladies Bingo have just reported a 43% tumble in their first half profits for this year, in return this see their shares fall by 7.3% yesterday. No matter what work sector you are in the going has been tough for companies all over the UK during the economic downturn and although gaming sites seem to have faired better than most, some casino sites have seen dramatic loses in profits.
On the up side for 888.com (Holdings) their new ventures sports betting and online bingo had income of $11.4 million USD, which was up nearly a third. It was the casino side to 888 that see a huge drop in profits as it was down 20% from the same period last year.
Collins Stewart analyst Paul Leyland said, “The sector look-through is encouraging relative to fears of further trading deterioration, but 888′s new consensus EBITDA of $45 million represents a 20 percent reduction on 2008 and a 27 percent reduction on consensus at the beginning of the year.”
In an interview with Reuters, CEO of 888.com Gigi Levy said, “Consumer behaviour has gone back to normal, and we think the third quarter is going to be okay, with the fourth quarter showing nice growth,”. He also went on to say that they were nearing completion of a few ‘big deals’ which they have had in the pipeline.
888.com is still thought to be valued around the £320 million pound mark. Partygaming bought out Cashcade Ltd in a deal what was thought to be worth around £95.9 million, just a short while ago. It is the aim or Partygaming to become market leaders in the various sectors of the online gaming industry, online poker, online casino, online sports and online bingo.
At one point it seemed 888.com would acquire cashcade, but this deal never panned out. 888 do expect trade to level out even further in the second half of this year. Their online bingo brand 888 Ladies Bingo has become one of the top UK bingo sites on the web, making them a leading force within the bingo market.
