CryptoLogic, the online gaming software developer, booked a sharp increase in earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, due primarily to the successful release of its newest range of casino games and licensed slots.
Although full-year results for the Dublin, Ireland-based company took a negative turn following the US online gaming ban, which came into effect towards the end of 2006, profit for the last quarter of 2007 totalled US$4.3m, up 153 per cent on the $1.7m reported in the year-earlier period. Revenue was up seven per cent to $20.4m.
CryptoLogic attributed this growth, in part, to the successful release of its newest line-up of casino games in October, and to the launch of the much-anticipated Spider-Man and Fantastic Four slot games in December. The company also benefited from a contingency release of $2m.
"In 2007, CryptoLogic demonstrated the resilience of its business - and the strength of its strategy," said president and CEO, Brian Hadfield. "CryptoLogic led the industry in gaming innovation, broadened and deepened its customer relationships, grew both its core and emerging businesses, and made strategic investments in Europe and Asia."
On a year-on-year basis, net earnings for the developer slumped 78 per cent to $5.5m, as the signing of the UIGEA, which controversially forced a ban in online gambling in the US, severed one of CryptoLogic’s key revenue streams.
The company continues to have a strong balance sheet, ending the year with $77.5m in cash and cash equivalents. The company made four strategic investments in Europe and Asia over the course of 2007, and Hadfield said the firm "enters 2008 with a new wave of momentum - and a new world of opportunity."
