Remember that not so long time ago we featured online gaming firm, PartyGaming(PRTY.L) . Well today, the latest news from PartyGaming shook the ground, as the company's chief who rebuilt PartyGaming is set to resign.The shares crashed 12% after the Canadian told the company he wants to return to Canada with his family next year. An industry guru said he does not want to renew his contract, which runs out in May 2009.
It is a crushing setback for PartyGaming, whose previous chief executive Richard Segal stepped down two years ago because he did not want to live in Gibraltar, where the firm is based. The shares tumbled 3,25p to 24,25p on fears PartyGaming will struggle to find a replacement with Garber's experience. The price was also hit after one of the company's major shareholders offloaded 80 million shares at 23,5p.
Mr. Garber joined PartyGaming in April 2006 and was in the hot seat when the US Government banned all Americans from gambling online in October 2006. That meant PartyGaming lost a confounding 80% of its business overnight and the share price tumbling from around 120p to less than 30p.
Under Graber, however, the company has expanded elsewhere around the world. Today, it said profits for the year more than doubled from $50.9 million to $111.7 million once, its lost US operations were stripped out. Revenues rose 41% to 457.8 million with $295 million coming from its online poker tables, $146.7 million from casino games and $16.1 from betting on sports.
Some analysts think that the firm could struggle to hit 2008 consensus core profit forecasts of $174 million. It reported core 2007 earnings of $87 million.
Reference
www.partygaming.com
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