Vegas firm reports loss

Monday, March 31, 2003 | 11:33 a.m.

Paul-Son Gaming of Las Vegas reported a loss for 2002 of $1 million, or 14 cents per share, compared to net income of $951,000, or 23 cents per share, a year ago. Fourth quarter revenue was $8.7 million, down 12 percent from $9.8 million for the same period a year ago.

The decrease primarily reflected the addition of Paul-Son's results from Sept. 12 to the close of the year and reduced sales of Etablissements Bourgogne et Grasset's gaming chops, compared with last year's surge in demand for Euro-denominated product driven by the European Union's conversion to a common currency.

For 2002, the company reported a net loss of $2.2 million, or 42 cents per share, on revenue of $21.9 million. In 2001, the company recorded net income of $984,000, or 24 cents per share, on revenue of $23.1 million.

Las Vegas-based Paul-Son Gaming completed a reverse acquisition with Etablissements Bourgogne et Grasset and its subsidiary, the Bud Jones Co. on Sept. 12, 2002. Former shareholders of B&G, a French supplier of casino equipment, now own a majority of Paul-Son's outstanding shares.

"We are pleased by the significant progress we have already achieved to reap the benefits of the combined company's synergies and economies of scale," said Gerard Charlier, Paul-Son's president and chief executive officer.