888 Holdings PLC — Earnings Release 2014

Nov 4, 2014

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RNS Number : 0505W

888 Holdings plc

04 November 2014

4th November 2014                                                                                

888 Holdings Public Limited Company

("888" or "the Group")

Interim Management Statement

Q3 2014 Key Performance Indicators and Interim Management Statement*

888, one of the world's most popular online gaming entertainment and solutions providers, is today publishing its Interim Management Statement for the period from 1 July 2014 to the date of this announcement, incorporating the Group's third quarter trading period from 1 July 2014 to 30 September 2014.

Q3 Highlights

·      Q3 Group revenue at an all time record of US$114 million (Q3 2013: US$94 million), an increase of 22% year on year

·      Q3 revenue B2C at US$98 million (Q3 2013: US$83 million), an increase of 19% year on year

·      Q3 revenue B2C Casino at US$56 million (Q3 2013: US$45 million), an increase of 23% year on year

·      Q3 revenue B2C Poker at US$23 million (Q3 2013: US$22 million), an increase of 3% year on year, as we continue to maintain our No. 2 position in global liquidity rankings**

·      Q3 revenue B2C Bingo at US$11 million (Q3 2013: US$10 million), an increase of 9% year on year, continuing the recovery of our Bingo operations

·      Q3 revenue B2C Emerging Offering at US$9 million (Q3 2013: US$5 million), an increase of 84% year on year, lead by strong Sport performance, reflecting a successful FIFA World Cup and leveraging our newly integrated Sport platform capabilities

·      Q3 revenue B2B at US$16 million (Q3 2013: US$11 million), an increase of 41% year on year driven by US operations and Bingo

·      Number of active customers B2C Casino and Poker at 584,000 (Q3 2013: 498,000), an increase of 17% compared to Q3 2013

·      As at 30 September 2014, 888 had 17.3 million Casino, Poker and Sport real money registered customer accounts, representing an increase of 16% from 30 September 2013

Current Trading and Outlook

·      Revenue in October was more than 6% higher year on year and the Board now anticipates reporting an Adjusted EBITDA outcome for the full year ahead of current analyst consensus

Commenting on today's announcement Brian Mattingley, Chief Executive Officer, said:

"I am delighted to report that 888 has continued its strong performance in Q3, delivering an all time quarterly revenue record of $114m. This was driven by an outstanding performance from Casino, reflecting our leading product and superior technology, as well as impressive growth in Sport, our B2B business and Bingo.

We continue to build customer numbers reflecting the core strengths of the 888 brand, our leading product offer and CRM systems. With our highly skilled and innovative team, we continue to look forward with confidence as we further develop the business."

* All percentages in this release are calculated without rounding

**According to global ranking site PokerScout

Q3 2014 Key Performance Indicators

Group

·      Revenue at US$114 million (Q3 2013: US$94 million), a year on year increase of 22%

·      As at 30 September 2014, 888 had 17.3 million Casino, Poker and Sport real money registered customer accounts, representing an increase of 16% from 30 September 2013

B2C

·      Revenue B2C at US$98 million (Q3 2013: US$83 million), a year on year increase of 19%

·      Revenue B2C Casino at US$56 million (Q3 2013: US$45 million), a year on year increase of 23%

·      Revenue B2C Poker at US$23 million (Q3 2013: US$22 million), a year on year increase of 3%

·      Revenue B2C Bingo at US$11 million (Q3 2013: US$10 million), a year on year increase of 9%

·      Revenue B2C Emerging Offering at US$9 million (Q3 2013: US$5 million), a year on year increase of 84%

·      Number of active customers B2C Casino and Poker at 584,000 (Q3 2013: 498,000), an increase of 17% compared to Q3 2013

·      Number of active customers B2C Casino at 175,000 (Q3 2013: 172,000), an increase of 1% compared to Q3 2013

·      Number of active customers B2C Poker at 482,000 (Q3 2013: 385,000), an increase of 25% compared to Q3 2013

·      Quarterly revenue B2C per active Casino and Poker customer was US$134 (Q3 2013: US$135), a 1% decrease year on year

·      Quarterly revenue B2C per active Casino customer was US$319 (Q3 2013: US$264), a 21% increase year on year

·      Quarterly revenue B2C per active Poker customer was US$47 (Q3 2013: US$57), an 18% decrease year on year

Dragonfish

·      Revenue B2B at US$16 million (Q3 2013: US$11 million), an increase of 41% year on year driven by our US operations and Bingo

Nine months ended 30 September 2014

Group

·      Revenue up 16% to US$339 million (2013: US$294 million)

B2C

·      Revenue B2C up 12% to US$291 million (2013: US$260 million)

·      Revenue B2C Casino up 17% to US$163 million (2013: US$140 million)

·      Revenue B2C Poker up 3% to US$71 million (2013: US$69 million)

·      Revenue B2C Bingo up 9% to US$35 million (2013: US$33 million)

·      Revenue B2C Emerging Offering up 17% to US$22 million (2013: US$19 million)

Dragonfish

·      Revenue B2B up 40% to US$48 million (2013: US$34 million)

Current Trading and Outlook

Revenue during October was more than 6% higher than in October 2013. Given the Group's strong trading in the year to date the Board now anticipates that the Adjusted EBITDA outcome for the full year will be ahead of current analyst consensus. With our highly skilled and innovative team, we continue to look forward with confidence as we further develop the business.

As at 31 October 2014, the Group had US$148 million of cash and cash equivalents and US$60 million liabilities to customers.

Analyst and Investor Conference Call

There will be an analyst and investor conference call at 10.00am GMT today.

Dial-in number:	+44(0)20 7784 1036
Passcode:	8173190
Replay number:	+44(0)20 3427 0598
Replay passcode:	8173190

Contacts and enquiries

888
Brian Mattingley, Chief Executive Officer	+350 200 49800
Aviad Kobrine, Chief Financial Officer	+350 200 49800
Hudson Sandler	+44(0) 207 796 4133
Alex Brennan / Michael Sandler

This announcement includes statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty since they relate to future events and circumstances. Forward-looking statements may and often do differ materially from actual results. Any forward-looking statements in this announcement reflect 888's view with respect to future events as at the date of this announcement. Save as required by law or by the Listing Rules of the UK Listing Authority, 888 undertakes no obligation publicly to release the results of any revisions to any forward-looking statements in this announcement that may occur due to any change in its expectations or to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this announcement.

Appendix

US$m*	2013				2014
Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	Q3
B2C Revenue
Casino	47.6	46.5	45.4	50.9	54.3	53.3	55.8
Poker	24.4	22.5	22.0	24.7	25.3	22.8	22.6
Bingo	11.9	10.2	10.4	11.1	12.1	11.9	11.4
Emerging Offering	7.9	6.0	4.7	5.9	6.1	6.9	8.6
Total  Revenue B2C	91.8	85.2	82.5	92.7	97.8	95.0	98.4
B2C KPI
Revenue Casino US$m	47.6	46.5	45.4	50.9	54.3	53.3	55.8
Active Players Casino (000)	235.5	185.8	172.1	198.9	226.1	200.0	174.7
Revenue Casino per active player US$	$ 202	$ 250	$ 264	$ 256	$ 240	$ 267	$ 319
Revenue Poker US$m	24.4	22.5	22.0	24.7	25.3	22.8	22.6
Active Players Poker (000)	473.6	409.8	385.1	472.5	537.1	458.9	482.1
Revenue Poker per active player US$	$ 52	$ 55	$ 57	$ 52	$ 47	$ 50	$ 47
Revenue Casino & Poker US$m	72.0	69.0	67.4	75.6	79.6	76.1	78.4
Active  Players Casino & Poker (000)	634.4	534.7	498.3	601.7	681.8	579.4	584.1
Revenue Casino & Poker per active player US$	$ 113	$ 129	$ 135	$ 126	$ 117	$ 131	$ 134
B2B Revenue
Revenue B2B	11.2	11.9	11.2	14.1	16.0	16.3	15.8
Revenue	102.9	97.1	93.7	106.8	113.8	111.3	114.2

*Rounded.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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