It seems that its divorce from Party Gaming has done little to slow Internet gaming firm Empire Online Ltd down. The company has posted a 57 percent rise in 2005 net profit and reports strong customer growth that will enable it to meet ambitious targets this year.
Empire Online owns Club Dice and other online casino brands together with the busy Noble Poker website, and posted a net profit of $41.2 million on net gaming revenues: up 61 percent to $105.2 million. The company has advised that it is on the lookout for new acquisitions to grow its online casino and poker stable.
“We are extremely pleased with the performance of the company during the period, and are very encouraged with the growth in both our poker and casino offerings globally and in particular in geographical territories outside of the USA,” chief executive Noam Lanir said in his report.
An average of 450 punters a day signed up in March, an increase of around 50 percent after pulling out the impact of the Empire Poker business that was recently sold to PartyGaming plc.
The stock, which was listed in London last June, has lost nearly half its value in the space of little more than six months after first Sportingbet plc, and then PartyGaming reportedly abandoned buying moves following the Party Gaming falling-out.