PokerTek’s Q1 results no royal flush
PokerTek (Nasdaq: PTEK), an electronic poker-table and software maker, posted a net loss for the first quarter ended March 31, but executives predicted the company would break even by the year’s end in a conference call Monday evening.
To achieve profitability, PokerTek CFO Chris Daniels said the company needs a poker table-install base of between 175 and 200 tables. PokerTek currently has 97 automated poker tables installed in casinos and cruise ships. Regulatory issues are keeping the company from installing more tables, PokerTek CEO Lou White said.
The company, founded in 2003, announced a first-quarter net loss of $2.6 million, or $0.28 per share, compared with a first-quarter net loss of $1.5 million, or $0.17 per share, a year earlier. According to Reuters, analysts were expecting a loss of $0.11 a share. First-quarter revenues were $591,576, up from $476,516 in the first quarter of 2006.
Regulatory issues, and employee and depreciation costs as reasons for the first quarter numbers, White said.
PokerTek announced the first-quarter results during today’s trading session, after which the stock closed up $0.14, or 1.3%, to $11.07, about in the mid-range of its 52-week high of $15.50, and 52-week low of $8.05.
White said PokerTek’s dealer-less poker table technology was still in the “novelty” cycle, but is rapidly gaining acceptance. The company plans on making at least one important announcement regarding regulation of its poker tables next quarter, White said.
Last month, the company announced the private placement of $13 million of its common stock to institutional investors and a deal with Harrah’s casinos, in moves designed to further growth.
