Amaya Profit Misses Expectations as Taste for Poker Wanes - Bloomberg

PokerStars owner Amaya Inc. reported fourth-quarter earnings that missed analysts’ estimates as new online casino games and sports betting couldn’t offset a weakening consumer appetite for poker.

Profit was 53 cents a share, excluding some items, in the period that ended Dec. 31, the Pointe-Claire, Quebec-based company said Wednesday. That missed the average projection of 56 cents. Revenue from poker, Amaya’s main source of income, decreased 5.1 percent from a year earlier. Adjusting for foreign-exchange rates, real-money poker sales would have fallen 1 percent for the quarter and stayed flat for the year, Amaya said.

Online poker has been under pressure since the U.S. outlawed web-gaming companies and professional players started pushing some casual players away. While Amaya pared down the perks for skilled professionals, the company has also been decreasing its reliance on the game, using a database of registered players in excess of 100 million to promote different options.

The company said poker accounted for 70 percent of revenue compared with 78 percent a year ago, while the share of online casino and sports book rose to 25.8 percent from 17.2 percent.

Last year was a turbulent one for Amaya. Founder David Baazov stepped down as chief executive to fight legal charges in an insider trading probe and tried to take the company private before abandoning the bid in December. Amaya and William Hill Plc also ended merger discussions, squelching a potential mega deal in the betting industry, after U.K. activist investor Parvus Asset Management opposed the union.

Rafi Ashkenazi, who took over as CEO in August, is focusing on reducing debt and paying back a deferred payment to the founders of PokerStars while contending with legislation that could force Amaya to exit the Australian market. Amaya’s total long-term debt was $2.53 billion at the end of last year, according to the statement.

• Revenue and profit for the full-year 2016 were within the guidance range Amaya gave in February.
• The company said it expects profit of between $1.94 and $2.13 per share this year, more than the average of analysts’ forecasts.

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