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There may be a worldwide recession but the online gambling sector continues to thrive with casino and poker software giant, Playtech (PTEC.L) reporting a 2.6 percent climb in its shares.
The rise followed reports of 4th quarter revenue of 31.5 million euros, an increase of 11 percent quarter-on-quarter, which in turn prompted Numis to repeat its "buy" rating.
The broker says in a note that the results represent a "very significant market outperformance and underpin the advantages of Playtech's operating model".Playtech's management also confirms it is confident of meeting full-year 2008 expectations, and Numis says, "despite the shares recently bouncing of lows, we think Playtech's valuation remains compelling".
Numis estimates the company's price earnings ratio of 8.4 times to December 2009. Playtech's shares have risen 28 percent since mid-December.
Founded in 1999 by Teddy Sagi, Playtech has among its clients GoldenPalace.com, Class 1 Casino, Betfred, Centrebet, ToteSport, Bet365, Stanley Ho's Dr Ho 888 casino, The Rank Group's Grosvenor Casino, VCPoker, Titan Poker, MansionPoker, and Christchurch Casino's Kiwi Gaming. They also power the world's 3rd largest online poker network, iPoker.
When the company went public, Sagi realized $295m from the IPO of the company. He still controls 41% of Playtech through his investment vehicle Brickington.
Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
