Interactive

Canada – Focussed Amaya doubles its profit

Pokerstars owner Amaya saw its quarterly profit more than double in the first quarter as it continued to expand its online casino offerings and invest in its online sportsbook.

Net earnings from continuing operations rose to $55.5m in the quarter ended March 31 from $23.3m. Revenues and real-money online revenues for the quarter increased six per cent and 6.7 per cent, respectively. Excluding the impact of year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates, total revenues and real-money online revenues for the quarter would have increased by 13.9 per cent and 14 per cent respectively. Real-money online poker revenues and real-money online casino and sportsbook combined revenues represented approximately 75 per cent and 21 per cent of total revenues for the quarter, respectively, as compared to 89 per cent and six per cent respectively, for the first quarter of 2015.

“Amaya remains focused,” said Rafi Ashkenazi, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Amaya. “During the first quarter, we continued to execute on our growth plans despite unexpected challenges, including management changes and the ongoing strategic alternatives process. We attracted new customers to PokerStars, continued to introduce changes to improve the overall poker experience, expanded our online casino offering and continued to invest in our emerging online sportsbook.”