888 Holdings Public Limited Company is the owner of 888.com (Pacific Poker), 888sport and a lot of other casino sites. This one presents its results of 2008.

888: rising profits and net profits in 2008

888 displays 48.6 million dollar profits in 2008. The whole of the net profits of 888 increased by 21% and reached 262.5 million dollar. Thanks to this the group reached a profit of 6% in spite of the big raise of its expenditure (+23%, 55.7 million dollars).

Poker

Concerning poker the group decreased slightly. The net profits in this sector are falling by 4%. The analysis of the spearhead of 888, Pacific Poker, shows that his attendance has fallen by 15% in 2008 compared to 2007. However 888 has limited its losses on the poker market thanks to the agreements concluded with Littlewoods, Poker Dome und Lucky Ace Poker.

Casino

888.com is primarily a casino site. From this site everything is fine; in a sluggish market they reached a raise of 14% of his profits for the casino for a total of 135.1 million dollars. The casino profits represent a total of more than 50% net profits of 888.

Games and sport

These are the great engines of the growth of 888. The benefits increase by 208% to 44.5 million dollars.
All profits of the games have increased for more than the half of the profits released by the poker alone. Without the development of this sector the net profits and the profits would be much lower than they are.

The agreement of June 2008 between 888 and Sporttech PLC was reinforced by the launch of the sites like 888sport.com and 888ladies.com. 888 has also known a development on Bingo, Sportsbook Live Dealer Casino, Backgammon and B2B.

All this speaks for a diversification of activities and the conclusion of trade agreements.

888 and the paradoxes of the crisis

The current global financial crisis is full of paradoxes. In spite of the good results of the company, thhe 888 Holding Index appearing on the London stock exchange has lost 50% percent of its value in less than 6 month. However the index has passed from 160 to 60 in a few weeks in December 2008 and has now recovered to around 90.

Which future for 888?

Everything seems to indicate that the future of 888 holds in:

• The diversification of its activities (particularly to sports betting)
• Reinforcement of its leadership in the casino sector
• A revival in the sector of poker…especially the American market