Sportingbet Beats Forecast
22 Feb 2006
LONDON -- As reported by Reuters: "Sportingbet, the country's second-biggest online gaming group, beat forecasts with a 72 percent gain in second-quarter profit and said on Wednesday it was planning to launch new online games.
"But its shares fell after the company said that a major shareholder was cashing in 17 million of the shares it received on selling Sportingbet its Paradise Poker Web site in 2004.
"…Profit before tax rose to 27 million pounds (US$47.1 million) in the three months to January 31, while its average poker commission rose 107 percent to $542,000 a day (310,000 pounds).
"Analysts said this equated to underlying profits of around 34 million in the second quarter, beating their forecasts of 32 million…"