More detail on cassava business pre-IPO

Analysts were poring over Cassava Enterprises first half 2005 results this week as the intense interest in the forthcoming IPO of the company continued.

CEO John Anderson is believed to be awarded a maximum of 1 percent of stock following the IPO, several financial and business papers reported.

Net gaming revenue for the six months ended June 2005 were US$123.7 million, a rise of 48 percent on the same period last year.The growth was in part due to a surge in revenues from the Pacific Poker website, which rose 226 percent to US$43.8 million. Poker currently comprises around 35 percent of total revenues for 888.com.

There was also proof of the company's strong international focus with 45 percent of revenues derived from outside the US. The group said 19 percent of its income came from members in the UK, 19 percent from members resident elsewhere in the European Union and 7 percent from the rest of the world.

Rival firm PartyGaming, the owner of the Party Poker site, takes around 90% of its revenues from the US market.