Amaya's profit beats on lower costs

(Reuters) - Canada's Amaya Inc , owner of online gambling sites PokerStars and Full Tilt, reported fourth-quarter profit ahead of estimates as it added more customers and cut costs. Amaya said it expects adjusted profit of $1.94-$2.13 per share in 2017, higher than the $1.88 per share it earned last year. Customer registrations increased by 2.6 million to about 108 million in the quarter ended Dec. 31, the company said on Wednesday. Amaya's financial expenses fell nearly 28 percent to $36.6 million. The company's net income from continuing operations was about $45 million, or 23 cents per share, compared with a loss of $15.2 million, or 11 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, Amaya reported a profit of 53 cents per share, higher than analysts' average estimate of 50 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Amaya's revenue rose nearly 6 percent to $310.4 million. (Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Martina D'Couto)