WMS growth continues as online arm plots success
Casino game supplier "sharpens its focus" of online opportunities with $30m of acquisitions.
WMS Industries has recorded its third consecutive quarter of revenue growth as it looks to broaden its services with investments in online gaming, the company announced last night during a Q2 presentation.
The US casino game supplier posted an uplift in revenues of $19.9m to $195.5m, or 11%, for Q2 compared to the previous quarter. Net income for the second quarter was $22.1m compared to $10.3m during the same period last year.
The June 2012 quarter earnings also reflect acquisition-related expenses, the company said in a statement. This was attributed to its purchase of two online gaming business for US$16.4m. WMS said it had “sharpened its focus” of online, social, casual and mobile gaming products and services. Q2 saw WMS complete the acquisitions of online gaming content developer Jadestone Group and social casino games developer Phantom EFX.
However Orrin J. Edidin, president of WMS Industries and CEO of the company’s newly created egaming arm, Williams Interactive, said the total cost of the Jadestone and Phantom EFX entities including potential additional considerations amounts to nearer $32m.
“We believe that increasing our focus on this rapidly evolving growth area in facilitating investment, expansion and extension of our interactive products and services will allow us to provide what our customers need to be successful in these channels,” he said in Monday’s earnings call.
Brian R. Gamache, chairman and CEO, added: “We have enhanced our focus and accelerated spending in a measured manner to build a comprehensive suite of interactive products and services that provide our customers with solutions that enable them to benefit from interactive gaming opportunities.
“While this spending impacts near-term financial results, we believe it favourably positions WMS to participate in the tremendous high-margin growth potential of these opportunities that will create longer-term shareholder value.”
Last month WMS announced it was forming a new division, Williams Interactive, to focus on egaming opportunities. The new entity will be headed up by Orrin J. Edidin, president of WMS Industries, and will concentrate on its online wagering, social, casual and mobile gaming offerings in order to “capitalise on the emerging industry’s significant potential growth opportunities by supporting casinos’ participation in these new distribution channels”.
July also saw company announce a strategic alliance with Dragonfish, the B2B arm of 888 Holdings, to pursue both social and real-money online poker in the US, when legally permitted.