888.com Revenues Up 38 Percent In Q1

888.COM REVENUES UP 38 PERCENT IN Q1
Online casinos the star of the 888 Holdings show

Online casino operations made a stellar contribution to 888.com’s impressive Q1 2008 results released this week, delivering a 35 percent net gaming revenue gain over the same period last year. The performance enhanced an already positive overall group performance that saw net gaming revenues rise 38 percent to $64 million (Q1 2007: $47 million).

The online casino wing produced NGR of $35 million (Q1 2007: $21 million) over the quarter, with NGR from poker operations rising 5 percent to $22 million over the reporting period.

A company statement said that online casino NGR was in line with the “exceptionally high casino performance” in the fourth quarter of last year, while poker NGR was up 2 percent on the previous quarter.

The traditional seasonal downturn in business usually experienced in this timeframe has apparently not impacted 888.com performance, CEO Gigi Levy revealed, commenting that growth has continued into the second quarter of 2008.

“We are delighted with our Q1 2008 results especially given that we achieved further growth in the quarter well above the unusually high Q4 2007. Our growth has continued into Q2, driven particularly by Casino and Bingo and so far we have not experienced any impact of the historically quieter seasonal period,” Levy said. “Our various business initiatives are progressing well and we are therefore confident in delivering future growth during 2008”.

During Q1 2008 Casino NGR per active customer was US$453, a rise of 23 percent on the same period last year but a 5 percent decline on the previous quarter due to the product’s particularly strong performance then, the company said.

Poker NGR for the 2008 quarter per active customer rose 3 percent on 2007 numbers and 2 percent on the previous quarter to US$128.

888 now boasts 213 115 active customers across the group, a 3.5 percent rise on 2007 and 2% up on the previous quarter. The number of first time depositors has risen 19 percent on the previous quarter, and the successful launch of bingo site 888ladies, sportsbook 888sport and its Live Dealer product has engendered group confidence in producing further growth going forward.