Shoal Games Ltd. Announces 2014 Year End Results

pdfANGUILLA, B.W.I., February 19, 2015 / Shoal Games Ltd. (OTCQB: SGLDF) http://www.shoalgames.com (previously Bingo.com, Ltd.) (“the Company”), owner of Trophy Bingo, an innovative, non-gambling, social bingo game, http://www.trophybingo.com, today announced its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and the year ended December 31, 2014. All amounts are presented in United States dollars and in accordance with United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

Shoal Games 2014 highlights include:

  • Total income for the year ending December 31, 2014 was $5,062,233 compared to a loss of $787,863 for the year ending 2013.
  • Total revenue from continuing operations increased to $32,470 for the year ended December 31, 2014, an increase of 23% over revenue from continuing operations of $26,398 for the same period in the prior year.
  • Sale of the URL www.bingo.com and gambling business to Unibet Group plc for $8 million.
  • Three separate financings in 2014 for a total of 2,750,000 common shares raising $1,400,000 in total.
  • Soft Launch of Trophy Bingo, our social casino game in the fourth quarter of 2014.

“2014 was a busy and pivotal year for Shoal Games,” commented Jason Williams, the Company’s CEO. “We successfully divested the Company of the domain name www.bingo.com and the associated online gambling business in exchange for $2,000,000 cash and the return of 15,000,000 of Shoal Games’ common shares which have since been cancelled. This transaction allowed us to successfully exit the online gambling industry which we believe to be mature and facing increasing threats from taxation, regulation, and competition.”

“Additionally we changed our name from Bingo.com, Ltd. to Shoal Games Ltd. to more accurately reflect the Company’s new focus which is the high growth sector of social and mobile games,” continued Williams. “The Company’s social bingo game, Trophy Bingo, is currently live in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. While revenues from the game have been low and will continue to be low for the first half of 2015 as the next version of the game completes development, the performance metrics for Trophy Bingo are very strong. Despite the live version not being feature complete, Trophy Bingo’s player retention figures are near industry highs, conversion performance from free player to premium player is high, and the ARPDAU (average revenue per daily active user) performance is improving. Trophy Bingo’s performance metrics indicate that we may have a hit game in development which will provide significant value to the Company in the coming years. We are projecting that the next version of Trophy Bingo will be released early in the second half of 2015 with a large co-ordinated marketing effort. The cash that we secured in the sale of our online gambling assets enables the Company to devote the necessary resources to complete and market Trophy Bingo at that time.”

Total revenue from continuing operations increased to $32,470 for the year ended December 31, 2014, an increase of 23% over revenue from continuing operations of $26,398 for the same period in the prior year. Revenue from Trophy Bingo increased to $9,815 for the year ended December 31, 2014, over revenue from Trophy Bingo of $1,265 for the same period in the prior year. During the year ended December 31, 2014, the Company soft launched Trophy Bingo in the Google Play and Apple App Store. Advertising Revenue decreased to $22,655 for the year ended December 31, 2014, a decrease of 10% over revenue of $25,133 for the same period in the prior year.

Operating costs from continuing operations before interest, and depreciation expenses, including sales and marketing and general and administrative expenses increased to $2,283,193 for the year ended 2014, an increase over operating expenses of $776,879 for the year ended 2013. The increase in operating expenses compared to the year ended 2013 is due to the Company ceasing to capitalize the development of Trophy Bingo and the commencement of expensing the current development costs in 2014.

Sales and marketing expenses from continuing operations were $247,258 for the year ended 2014, an increase of 25% over expenses of $197,441 for the year ended 2013. This increase in sales and marketing expenses from continuing operations in 2014 was due to the increase in the test marketing expense for the soft launch of Trophy Bingo in the Google play and iOS stores.

The net loss after taxation from continuing operations for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014, amounted to $2,736,544, a loss of ($0.04) per share, compared to a net loss from continuing operations of $755,182 or ($0.01) per share in the twelve months ending December 31, 2013.

Effective December 31, 2014, the Company sold its URL www.bingo.com and its online gambling business to Unibet Group plc (“Unibet”) for total consideration of $8,000,000. The Company received cash consideration of $2,000,000 and redemption of the 15,000,000 common shares of the Company, which were held by Unibet. The 15,000,000 common shares held by Unibet have been returned to the Company’s treasury and cancelled. The Company recorded a gain from the sale of $6,742,759.

Gaming revenue from discontinued operations decreased to $1,684,047 for the year ended December 31, 2014, a decrease of 12% over gaming revenue of $1,912,301 for the same period in the prior year. This decrease compared to the prior year was due to a decrease in players to the website

Sales and marketing expenses from discontinued operations were $628,029 for the year ended December 31, 2014, a decrease of 68% over expenses of $1,944,982 for the year ended December 31, 2013. This decrease in sales and marketing expenses from discontinued operations was due to a decrease in marketing campaigns during the 2014 fiscal year.

The net income after taxation for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014, amounted to $5,062,233, an income of $0.07 per share, compared to a net loss of ($787,863) or ($0.01) per share in the twelve months ending December 31, 2013.

We had cash of $2,876,386 and working capital of $2,856,230 at December 31, 2014. This compares to cash of $491,203 and working capital of $646,014 at December 31, 2013.

For full details of the Company’s operations and financial results, please refer to the Securities and Exchange Commission website at www.sec.gov or the Shoal Games Ltd. corporate website at http://investor.shoalgames.com.

About Shoal Games Ltd. (formerly Bingo.com, Ltd.)
Shoal Games Ltd. (OTCQB: SGLDF) http://www.shoalgames.com is the parent company of the group of companies, which owns Trophy Bingo, an innovative, non-gambling social bingo game, live in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.   Trophy Bingo is a puppy themed bingo adventure where players must win their way through 120 levels of bingo challenges. The game is free to download and supports in-app purchases for players who find themselves in need of extra bingos or want to engage with the premium power plays contained in the game. Shoal Games Ltd. (OTCQB: SGLDF) trades on the OTCQB, the venture marketplace for companies that are current in their reporting with the U.S. regulator. Investors can find real time quotes and market information for the Company at http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/SGLDF/quote.
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a “safe harbor” for forward-looking statements. Certain information included in this press release (as well as information included in oral statements or other written statements made or to be made by the company) contains statements that are forward-looking, such as statements relating to anticipated future success of the company. Such forward-looking information involves important risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated results in the future and, accordingly, such results may differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of the company. For a description of additional risks and uncertainties, please refer to the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Specifically, readers should read the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on March 25, 2014, and the prospectus filed under Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act on March 9, 2005 and the SB2 filed July 17, 2007, for a more thorough discussion of the Company’s financial position and results of operations, together with a detailed discussion of the risk factors involved in an investment in Shoal Games Ltd.

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