Newly-listed Stride Gaming (LON:STR) revealed the progress it made as a privately run company as it unveiled a 173% rise in revenues and a move decisively into the black in the first half.

The company, which raised £11.2mln from its IPO on May 19, reported net gaming revenues of £11.7mln and earnings before tax, depreciation and amortisation of almost £3.6mln during the six months to February 28.

The shares, listed at 132p, rose 3% following the results and were changing hands for 198p at 11.30pm. This values the business at just shy of £100mln.

Stride was founded by Eitan Boyd and Darren Sims, with the support of two previous financial backers, Tal Harpaz and Sean Rose, and is chaired by Nigel Payne, the former boss of Sportingbet.

The float proceeds will be used as acquisition currency and to fund the company’s quest for a bigger share of the £1.6bn Internet bingo cake.

It owns the Kitty Bingo, Lucky Pants and Jackpot Liner sites and last year posted revenues of £20.2mln, and underlying earnings (EBITDA) of £5.7mln.

Its ability to generate cash will see it join the dividend list very early in its life as a listed company.

“Gaming has a very high cash conversion, so we hope to attract some of the income funds. We will probably start with a dividend policy in year one,” said chief executive Boyd.

Members of the Stride team have an impressive record for building businesses. In 2007 they sold Globalcom to 888.com for £27mln, while two years later 888 paid them £60mln for Wink Bingo.

It joins the market as a fully formed company with its own platform.

Owning the technology that drives the sites makes it easier to expand into new territories and allows Stride to optimise what it makes from its existing crop of customers.

It should be remembered that online bingo is a pool business, which means business is essentially risk-free.

Some 2.5mln play the game in the UK and it is part of the growing online gaming industry that will generate around £3bn next year, with bingo accounting for more than half.

Stride sees an opportunity where many of the UK market’s smaller brethren see as a massive impediment in the form of the point of consumption (POC) tax that has been introduced in the UK.

As the tax bills are mailed out, so the smaller operators will be forced to throttle back marketing spend.

This is then expected to impair the ability of these minnows to snare new customers.

Stride hopes to be able to continue spending sensibly on acquiring new players. In fact it hopes and expects the process to become much cheaper than it is today.

CEO Boyd reckons as much as 20% of the market will be up for grabs as a result of the POC levy.

He told Proactive Investors in a recent interview there is a chance to grow the Stride market share three-fold in the next two years.

“We believe it is only a matter of time, once companies start paying the POC, that marketing expenditure will drop amongst the smaller operators,” said Boyd.

“That is a good opportunity to not exactly clean up, but to make headway. We will have more nets in the water with our multiple brands.”

The cash injection and shares give the firm the currency to pursue acquisitions; however, it has laid out five individual growth pillars.

They include product development, white labelling opportunities and expansion into new territories as well as the aforementioned market share push and organically building the firm.

Stride is coming to the market at a hot time for online gaming. GVC Holdings, backed by Pokerstars owner Amaya Gaming, is locked in a £1bn fight with 888 Holdings over Bwin Party.