888 Holdings Expects to Deliver Investors a "Very Encouraging Performance"
Last week, online gaming operator 888 Holdings announced to its investors via a brief pre-close trading update that the group expects its 2015 results to meet the board's expectations.
Established in 1997, the Gibralter-based company operates 888poker, 888sport, 888casino, 888bingo, 888games, and a handful of other online gaming sites.
The update advises that the group expects to deliver "very encouraging performance" and anticipates that adjusted EBITDA for the year will be at the upper end of what industry analysts forecasted.
According to 888 Holdings Executive Chairman Brian Mattingley, the group's strong performance was primarily highlighted by strong results from casino and sports wagering.
"Building on our very encouraging first half performance, 888 has continued to trade well through the second half of the year, driven by notably strong performances in Casino and Sport,' stated Mattingley.
While casino and sports results are highlighted in this report, 888poker has been holding its own as well. According to data provided by PokerScout, the site remains in the No. 2 spot in the Online Poker Traffic Report with 2,392 ring-game players based on a seven-day average as of Dec. 7, 2015. This represents a small 1.7 percent decline from the 2,433 ring-game players reported on Dec. 7, 2014.
The fact that traffic has remained somewhat steady for the online poker room can be interpreted as encouraging news on its own, since the regulatory climate has made operating more difficult. Most notably, in the past year online gaming companies were forced to react to the introduction of the Point of Consumption tax in the United Kingdom, new VAT rules concerning electronic gaming transactions, and gaming regime changes in a handful of European countries.
Mattingley also informed investors that the group believes that it will continue to deliver strong results in the future.
"Underpinned by our quality brands, leading technology and CRM expertise, 888 remains very well positioned to deliver long-term sustainable growth," he said.
Investors have reacted to the positive news, as since the announcement was made on Dec. 7, the stock traded on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol 888:LN increased by 1.7 percent from the 179.00 GBP opening price per share on that day to today's opening price of 182.00 GBP. Also in December, investors experienced more significant growth with the stock price increasing by 13.9 percent from 159.75 GBP opening price on Dec. 1.
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