According to financial information released on Friday by Party Gaming, the parent company of PartyPoker, overall revenues were up 9% to €85.3 million in the third quarter of 2010 compared to the same period last year “with growth in all products except poker.” The company is in the midst of a merger with rival bwin.
Jim Ryan, CEO of Party Gaming, commented in a statement distributed today, “Total revenue was up by 9% year-on-year with growth in all products except poker despite the impact of having closed our French casino business at the end of June 2010. Excluding the French casino, total revenue would have been up by 12% year-on-year driven by casino growth in other markets, acquisitions, and a strong performance in sports betting.”
Speaking of poker, the group’s revenue in that department sank by 5% to €29.6 million in the third quarter of 2010 compared to the third quarter of 2009. The company cited “continued pressure from U.S.-facing sites [but] partially mitigated by growth in newly regulated markets” as reason for its struggles in the poker arena. According to the traffic ranking site PokerScout.com, cash game activity on PartyPoker is down 17% year-over-year, perhaps contributing to the company’s 5% overall decline in online poker revenues. PartyPoker’s team of sponsored pros includes Kara Scott, Mike Sexton, and Tony G.
Party Gaming’s casino revenues rose modestly at 2% to €34.9 million in the third quarter year-over-year. Why the reason for increased activity in Party Gaming’s virtual casino? The company explained that “content and jackpot improvements on PartyCasino” likely contributed to the gain.
Also trending upward in the third quarter of 2010 was Party Gaming’s bingo revenues, which shot up 36% to €13.1 million as a result of the company’s acquisition of Cashcade. Given increases in areas like the virtual casino and bingo parlor, Ryan told investors that he expects Party Gaming’s 2010 financial figures to fall in line with expectations: “In respect of current trading since the end of September, we have begun to see the normal seasonal upturn, in line with the Board’s expectations, and we remain confident about the full year outlook.”
The company added 212,500 real money accounts during Q3 2010, which is up 2% year-over-year. Party Gaming’s sites hosted 79,400 daily average players during the third quarter who provided a yield per active player day of €11.40. The latter figure represented a growth of 7% compared to last year’s third quarter.
Despite Party Gaming’s overall struggles in the online poker industry, it reported strong results from its new French-facing site, whose average daily player count has increased every month since launching in July. PartyPoker’s French poker site currently hosts nearly 10,000 players daily. According to PokerScout.com, PartyPoker.fr weighs in as the 21st largest site worldwide with a seven-day running average of 800 real money ring game players. It’s the fourth largest French-facing site behind outlets belonging to PokerStars, Winamax, and Everest Poker.
Ryan also updated shareholders on the pending merger with bwin, giving the timeline for the two massive internet gaming companies to become one: “I am also pleased to report that the proposed merger with bwin remains on track to complete at the end of Q1 2011, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.”
Also announced today was that Simon Duffy will become the Non-Executive Chairman of the merged company upon its completion. Prior to his post with Party Gaming and bwin, Duffy worked with online retailer Tradus, which is now part of Virgin Media Group. Read more here.
Party Gaming’s stock, which can be found on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol “PRTY,” was fetching 270.60 pence at the close of trading on Friday, down 0.33% on the day. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest poker stock headlines.
