# 888 Holdings Solid progress in second half

- Link: https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/888-holdings-solid-progress-in-second-half/412802028
- Published: 2020-01-07T07:42:33+00:00
- Author: Giles Arbor

**888 Holdings** (LON: 888), one of the world’s most popular online gaming entertainment
and solutions providers, has today reported a post-close trading update in respect
of its Full Year results for the year ended 31 December 2019.

As a result of 888’s continued progress during the second half of the financial 
year culminating in December’s revenue at an all-time monthly record, the Board 
remains confident of achieving an adjusted EBITDA outcome for the Period in-line
with its expectations.

888’s performance has been underpinned by the continued success of the Group’s Orbit
casino platform across a number of regulated markets as well as further good revenue
growth in Sport.

Poker has remained a challenging market for 888. However, the Group has been pleased
by progress made in the first-phase roll out of its new poker platform, Poker 8,
which took place during the second half of the year. The Group is looking forward
to adding a number of exciting new product features and rolling out the final-phase
platform across the Group’s poker markets during 2020.

In the UK, the Group has continued to increase revenue reflecting its sustained 
focus on engaging with and entertaining recreational customers. In Italy, the Group
has continued to perform well during the second half of the year delivering further
growth driven mainly by the continued success of Casino. As reported in the Group’s
Half Year results, revenue from Spain during the Period was impacted by the launch
of competitors’ shared poker liquidity networks between Spain, Portugal and France.
The Group has been encouraged by the early performance of its shared liquidity network
between Portugal and Spain, which launched in July, as well as by continued progress
in the Swedish and Romanian regulated markets throughout the Period.

In line with 888’s strategic focus, the proportion of Group revenue generated from
regulated markets has increased year-on-year.

> **Itai Pazner, Chief Executive Officer of 888 Holdings, said:**
> “The Group has delivered solid progress in the second half of the financial year
> underpinned by continued momentum in Casino and Sport. We are very encouraged 
> by the growth in new customers during 2019 with a record of more than one million
> new customers signing up to 888’s brands during the year. In addition, we were
> very pleased to end the year with a record revenue month in December.
> 2019 saw a number of key strategic developments for the Group including the acquisition
> in March of a sports betting platform and an outstanding sports team based in 
> Dublin. The Post-Merger Integration plan is progressing in line with expectations
> and 888 remains on track to launch its first proprietary sport product during 
> the first half of 2020. New product development has remained a key focus and competitive
> advantage for 888 and the success of our Orbit platform across multiple regulated
> markets during 2019 has been a major achievement for the Group.
> We have delivered a strong recovery in our UK business underpinned by a clear 
> and unwavering focus on entertaining recreational customers in a safe and secure
> environment. Continuous investment in further enhancing responsible gaming processes
> and tools across all markets will remain a key focus for the Group.
> 888 has entered 2020 with good momentum across several regulated European markets
> and, underpinned by further investment in our team, marketing and product development,
> we remain focused on achieving further progress in the US. With 888’s core strengths
> as a responsible operator with outstanding technology and diversification across
> a number of regulated markets, the Board remains confident of further progress
> in the year ahead.”

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