OPMR

[David Randolph]

But, over the short term, it is possible that WowWee's results in the 4th quarter and 2007 were bad and OPMR goes down to retest the $3.28 support level, for a double bottom formation.

Nice reaction to the $3.54 level. A higher low would be a positive signal, maybe we won't have to go as low as $3.28 in this bottoming process.

I'll continue holding OPMR for the long term.

[David Randolph]

OPMR will release results next Tuesday:

Optimal Group Sets Release Date for Fourth Quarter and 2007 Year End Results
Marketwire(Tue, Mar 4)

I believe OPMR is a special situation, a company which completely changed its business model and I believe it is very cheap (trading below net cash levels before the WowWee acquisition). Moreover I like WowWee's products and potential.

I'll keep holding this one for the long term.

[AussieTrader]

Results were released yesterday. Not great....

Mar 11, 2008 16:01 ET
Optimal Group Announces Fourth Quarter and 2007 Year-End Results
MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - March 11, 2008) - Optimal Group Inc. (NASDAQ:OPMR) today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2007. All references are in U.S. dollars.

Revenues for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2007 were $37.6 million (which includes approximately $11.3 million related to the WowWee business segment acquired on November 7, 2007) compared to $33.9 million for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2006.

Net loss in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2007 was $31.6 million (which includes a goodwill impairment loss of $22.6 million that was recognized in the Optimal Payments business segment, resulting from a revision in its business forecast to reflect higher merchant attrition and lower growth expectations, and amortization of intangibles pertaining to transaction processing and cost of sales of $4.6 million) or $1.26 per share compared to net earnings of $2.8 million (which included amortization of intangibles pertaining to transaction processing and cost of sales of $3.0 million) or $0.11 per diluted share in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2006.

EBITDA for the fourth quarter was $0.7 million or $0.03 per diluted share compared to EBITDA of $6.6 million or $0.27 per diluted share for the comparable period in 2006.

EBITDA is a non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) financial measure calculated as earnings before investment income, taxes and depreciation and amortization and excludes the impact of impairment loss, non-controlling interest, stock-based compensation and discontinued operations. A reconciliation of Optimal's EBITDA is included in Annex A.

Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2007 were $123.3 million compared to $191.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2006.

EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2007 was $8.5 million or $0.35 per diluted share compared to $43.0 million or $1.69 per diluted share for the year ended December 31, 2006.

Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2007 was $36.5 million (which includes the above-mentioned goodwill impairment loss of $22.6 million recorded in the Optimal Payments business segment and amortization of intangibles pertaining to transaction processing and cost of sales of $14.0 million) or $1.51 per share, compared to net earnings of $12.8 million (which included an impairment loss on intangible assets of $1.9 million and amortization of intangibles pertaining to transaction processing and cost of sales of $12.1 million) or $0.50 per diluted share for the year ended December 31, 2006.

Optimal's consolidated balance sheet remains strong. At December 31, 2007, the Company had:

- Cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments (including amounts held in reserve) and settlement assets net of customer reserves, security deposits and bank indebtedness, of $51.6 million or $1.99 per issued and outstanding share;

- working capital, excluding cash and short-term investments held as reserves, of $15.9 million; and

- shareholders' equity of $201.7 million, or $7.76 per issued and outstanding share.

Strategy

WowWee

The Company is actively focused on implementing the strategies outlined in the press release announcing the WowWee acquisition, in order to enhance the Company's growth and financial performance. These strategic initiatives include:

- Expanding sales and distribution through a broadening of sales channels, both in North America and overseas;

- Expanding product design, development and production capabilities to produce an increased number of products at varying price points. In 2008, WowWee will produce and market the broadest product line in its operating history;

- Broadening development initiatives into products that combine computer connectivity, utility and entertainment; and

- Embarking on branded entertainment, licensing, publishing and merchandising initiatives.

In the few months since WowWee was acquired by the Company, several objectives have already been achieved:

- A distribution relationship has been established with a leading third-party distributor and fulfillment partner;

- The WowWee sales and marketing plans have been restructured; certain personnel have been reassigned and additional sales and marketing professionals have been engaged;

- A redesigned WowWee website has been launched; and a new online store with greatly improved backend fulfillment will be added in the spring;

- The La Jolla, California creative design capabilities have been expanded and specific procedures to improve product design and packaging have been implemented;

- A third-party production and management team has been engaged to promote content across multiple media platforms embraced by young adults, with an emphasis on exploiting opportunities in the digital landscape; and

- "Store-within-a-store" concepts have been put into development with select merchants in North America.

WowWee now focuses on four distinct product lines:

- WowWee Robotics: its robo-branded consumer robotic product line that includes, amongst others Robosapien, Roboreptile and Robopet;

- WowWee FlyTech: its radio-controlled flight segment that includes its award-winning Dragonfly product;

- WowWee Alive: products based upon its highly sophisticated animatronic technology; and

- WowWee Technologies: a new consumer - facing group that is focused on the consumer electronics (CE) marketplace and applying certain existing WowWee technologies to the home and the workplace.

Optimal Payments

Optimal Payments continues to streamline its operations and to pursue a strategy of organic growth for its business to better leverage its existing capacity and infrastructure. In doing so, it has eliminated unprofitable business lines with the goal of generating consistent and ongoing cash flow and maximizing efficiency. While Optimal Group continues to operate in the payments segment, the Company has from time to time received expressions of interest from certain third parties interested in acquiring the payments business and has allowed investigation and review to be conducted.

U.S. Gaming Payment Processing

Following announcements by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York relating to its investigation of the U.S. Internet gambling industry, the Company, in March 2007, initiated discussions with the U.S Attorney's Office and is in the process of responding to a voluntary request for information issued by the U.S Attorney's Office.

Conference call

Optimal will hold a conference call on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 4:30 p.m. (EDT). It is the intent of Optimal's conference call to have the question and answer session limited to institutional analysts and investors. The call can be heard beginning at 4:30 p.m. (EDT) as an audio webcast via Optimal's website at www.optimalgrp.com. As well, Optimal invites retail brokers and individual investors to hear the conference call replay by dialing (514) 861-2272 or 1 (800) 408-3053 access code #3254448. The replay may be heard beginning at 6:00 p.m. (EDT) on March 11, 2008 and will be available for five business days thereafter.

[David Randolph]

I didn't have these results on my news service, thanks for posting AussieTrader

The bad results were due to one time charges. Listening to the conference call there's reason to be optimistic about OPMR. Let me just give you a few highlights:

- The company is buying back shares. Bought 200,000 in Q4 2007;
- They said they expect more than $130 M in revenues coming from WowWee in 2008, versus $117 M in 2006 and a bit more than $100 M in 2007; they also said they expect WowWee to be profitable in 08;
- Management expects more than $8.5 M EBITDA coming from the Payments business in 08.

$73.7 M, which is the current market cap, seems quite attractive for this company with $51 M in cash, or $1.99 per share.

Anyway, "cheap" doesn't mean anything these days, as the chart looks bearish. But I wouldn't sell due to the 4th quarter results, that's the past, the future looks a lot more promising for this company and I'm not talking about 3 years from now but right now in 2008.

I'll go deeper in this analysis before tomorrow's open, got to leave now.

[David Randolph]

Good news out for OPMR yesterday:

New WowWee Flyer Flutters to Store Shelves This Spring
Marketwire(Mon 8:30am)

I see several websites announcing availability of the product for sale in Asia and Europe. Some people also say they saw it at Wal Mart.

The price, which is $24 a piece, is cheap enough to attract parents. It's just a pity that the butterfly isn't controlled by radio (through a remote control), one just charges the toy, releases it in the air and then watch it fly.

Anyway, I think my 4 year old would just love it.

I'm enthusiastic about WowWee prospects and I'll continue holding OPMR.

[David Randolph]

OPMR's CEO bought shares in the open market, on Wednesday and Thursday:

Form 4

The man is showing his confidence in WowWee. I'm also confident.

[David Randolph]

Interesting, the former CEO and Chairman of Marvel Studios is producing a motion picture inspired in WowWee's RoboSapiens:

"Robosapien: Rebooted": WowWee's Robosapien(TM) Robot Gets a Starring Role in a Feature Film
Marketwire (Tue 8:30am)

If the film is successful it can bring meaningful revenues for WowWee.

[David Randolph]

OPMR closing back above $3.02. I never had any doubt about the fundamentals for this company and I expect a good 2008 for WowWee and OPMR.

I'll keep holding OPMR for the long term.

[David Randolph]

OPMR has been slowly coming back ... the CEO added to his holdings on weakness:

Form 4

[David Randolph]

OPMR closed above $3.02, will it be able to cross the $3.28 resistance now?

Well, I don't know about "now", but I remain confident that OPMR will be significantly higher by year's end.

[David Randolph]

OPMR closed above $3.02, will it be able to cross the $3.28 resistance now?

Done. Now OPMR will face the 50 days SMA resistance and an horizontal resistance, both at $3.54.

[la-onda]

fyi:
OPMR: Short Interest DN 12.4% to 237.0K at the End of Mar 2008
Wednesday, April 09, 2008 16:19ET

According to new short interest data from NASDAQ, short interest for Optimal Group, Inc (NasdaqNM: OPMR) DECREASED 12.4% to 236,984 shares as reported at month-end March, 2008.
Based on OPMR's 20-day average daily share volume of 97,338, it would require approximately 3 day(s) of buying to cover this short interest.

&

OPMR: New 52-Wk Low @ $2.720 dn 3.54%
Wednesday, April 16, 2008 10:25ET

This is the 1st 52 WEEK LOW alert for OPMR in the past 7 calendar days.

The share price for Optimal Group, Inc (NASDAQ NM: OPMR) reached a new 52-week low today, trading at $2.720, down $-0.100 (-3.54%) from its previous close of $2.820.
The Company's previous 52-week low of $2.750 was set 22 days ago on March 25, 2008.
One year ago, the Company's shares closed at $8.990. The price has declined more than 69 percent since then. At the time of this alert, the stock had traded 10,065 shares via 42 trades, 87.45% below it's 20day average of 80,176 shares.

chart:


This new 52-week low currently puts the stock:

12.48% below its 20day Moving Average of $3.108
20.47% below its 50day Moving Average of $3.420
26.37% below its 100day Moving Average of $3.694

[David Randolph]

Investors didn't like the following news:

• WowWee's Chatterbot(TM) Computer Accessories Stream Jokes, Dialogue, Comments About Your Virtual Life
Marketwire (Tue, Apr 15)

Who would want a silly toy like this? It's sad enough to be alone all day with the computer, but laughing from a robot jokes sounds really depressive.

Anyway, this is just a product and doesn't change OPMR's fundamentals.

I'll keep holding.

[terainvestment]

I agree with you: standing alone all day in front of the computer is VERY depressive

[David Randolph]

I agree with you: standing alone all day in front of the computer is VERY depressive

Especially on a public holiday like today. I wonder if it is also an holiday in Italy.

This "worker day" thing started in Chicago, but it is an holiday in Europe and not in the US. Well, but the US has the "labor day" holiday.

The owner of a coffee shop here in my hometown said a sarcastic joke: "here comes worker day holiday, the day when people who don't work ... take a break" ha ha ha

Some good news out for OPMR yesterday, working with Disney on a new toy:

• Disney Marks Entry into Robotic Toy Market with New Line of Programmable Toy Robots
Business Wire (Wed 7:00am)

Funny, DIS put out the press release but OPMR didn't say a thing about it. Management isn't worried about pumping the stock over the short term ... I guess the company has been buying back some of its own shares on the quiet.

There's only one analyst covering OPMR and he rates it "strong buy" with a $6 price target

(analysis attached below)

I'll keep holding OPMR for the long term.