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UPDATE 2-888 Q3 resilient, sees acquisitions
Mon Nov 17, 2008 5:26am EST
LONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - British online gaming firm 888 reported strong growth tempered by unfavourable interest rates on Monday.
Its CEO Gigi Levy said the company was resilient because people use it at home, and added that he was looking at a number of well-priced acquisitions.
The company reported a 24 percent rise in total operating income to $68 million in the third quarter.
However 888 said turnover in September was below August because of sharp exchange rate movements.
"I just think that in general online services that are consumed at home are easier to continue consuming than services that require you to go out," Levy told Reuters in an interview, adding that he was confident of delivering growth next year.
Levy also said he was considering acquisitions.
"We are looking to do a few (acquisitions)," he said on the telephone.
"I think prices went down (and) now we have lots of money, so that's a big opportunity for us. There are some private companies that are being offered at a lot more reasonable prices than they were a half year ago."
Analysts at Evolution Securities said they were confident in revived growth next year because of the company's new games on offer and new partnerships, and reiterated their "buy" stance.
At 1019 GMT shares were down 0.63 percent to 78.5 pence per share. |
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