PartyGaming says profit on track, lifts shares

LONDON (Reuters) - PartyGaming (PRTY.L: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's biggest listed online poker and gaming firm, said on Friday fourth-quarter trading was in line with its expectations and it remained confident about year earnings, lifting its shares.

On average, analysts expect PartyGaming to post a pretax profit of $76.3 million, on revenue of $467.7 million, according to a Reuters Estimates poll of five investment banks.

PartyGaming shares rose 4.3 percent in early trading, but pared gains and were up 1.7 percent at 29.5 pence by 0858 GMT.

PartyGaming added it had signed a deal with film maker Paramount to allow it offer Top Gun, Godfather and Saturday Night Fever themed online slot machines.

The firm is looking for new ways to boost revenues as it faces stiffer competition for poker players and struggles to compensate for the loss of big spending U.S. poker players after Internet betting was effectively banned there last year.

Despite saying in June it was in talks with U.S. authorities it is still waiting for a decision on its punishment for taking bets.

With the threat of retrospective U.S. prosecution hanging over the firm, banks have so far been nervous about lending PartyGaming money, analysts say. A deal with the Department of Justice would remove the problems, could give it the financial firepower to buy up rivals or return cash to shareholders, or make it a possible takeover target for larger gambling firms.

News Added: 14 December, 2007

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