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Sportingbet PLC posted a 190 pct leap in annual
profit, buoyed by last year's acquisition of Paradise Poker, and the British
online gaming group attempted to ease concerns industry growth rates may be
flagging.
'I can only call it as I see it and right now I
can't call a slowdown in any activity,' chief executive Nigel Payne told
reporters on a call.
'I think there are a lot of operators out there who
are very pleased with the way their Texas Holdem poker business continues to
progress,' he added in a thinly-veiled attack on bigger rival PartyGaming
PLC.
Sportingbet shares rose 17 pence, or six pct, to
304 by 9.00 am, valuing the company at around 1 bln stg.
The stock had lost 22 pct of its value, in tandem
with sector peers, over the previous five weeks after PartyGaming, owner of
the world's biggest poker site, on September 6 warned of a collapse in
revenue growth rates.
The warning, less than three months after it had
floated on the London Stock Exchange, has seen analysts questioning sky-high
share valuations and guessing as to whether it was indicative of a wider
malaise.
'They're trying to dispel the myth that poker is a
bubble. The statement offers only a mildly guarded two-fingers-up to
PartyGaming,' Daniel Stewart & Company analyst James Hollins said.
Operating profit before tax, goodwill amortisation
and exceptional items, rose to 60.5 mln stg from 20.8 mln on revenues up 30
pct to 1.5 bln. Financial analysts had expected profit of around 58 mln.
Sportingbet, which last year became the world's
third-biggest online poker group after paying 196 mln stg for Paradise
Poker. Paradise Poker, said the business boosted operating profit by
28.4 mln stg.
Payne was eager to point out that poker rates were
up 22 pct year-on-year in the latest ten weeks, broadly in line with the
previous year's growth rate, as the company signed up 37,680 new active
poker accounts, up 85 pct.
The average cost of acquiring each customer was
virtually flat at 132 usd. By contrast, PartyGaming spends 286 usd.
Net profit surged to 39.9 mln stg from 5.4 mln,
while diluted earnings per share climbed to 10.1 pence from 1.8.
A maiden dividend of 1 pence per share is proposed.
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