Slight Hit on Quarterly Income Fails to Sink Probability's Battleship

Probability reported a slight dip in quarter-on-quarter gaming income but announced a new licensing deal with Hasbro, one of the world's largest toy makers.

Charles P. Cohen, the company's chief executive, said in a stock-exchange release Wednesday that third-quarter revenue was down 4.7 percent due to a higher than usual payout ratio in the run-up to Christmas. Since Christmas Eve, however, that trend has normalized, he said.

Paul Leyland, the company's house broker with Collins Stewart, noted customer recruitment metrics were strong, up 20 percent against the second quarter.

The licensing deal with Hasbro, meanwhile, is Probability's second after a similar one was inked with Paramount Pictures in May. Probability said that it plans to develop themed slots content based on popular Hasbro board games like Battleship and Trivial Pursuit.

"The wide appeal of these games should generate high levels of new sign-ups and improve customer loyalty," Mr. Leyland said in a note to clients Wednesday.