Gaming company bwin.party digital entertainment plc announced earlier today that the revenue generated in the second quarter of the year was completely in line with expectations. In addition, revenue from sports betting was higher than initially predicted, despite sports gross win margins being below what could be considered normal levels.
The company’s mobile operations kept on growing strongly in the three-month period ended June 30, 2015. Last month, revenue from those accounted for 31% of the overall turnover compared to 23% in June 2014. Sports betting accounted for more than 50% of the total gross gaming revenue compared to 37% for the same month a year ago.
bwin.party also pointed out that the disposal of non-core assets contributed €36 million, which were completely in line with the initially targeted €30 to €50 million. Furthermore, the newly introduced label-led structure continued delivering the predicted operational improvements. Thus, the gaming company would be able to meet the expectations of reaching no less than €15 million in cost savings for 2015.
Commenting on the latest financial update, Norbert Teufelberger, Chief Executive Officer of bwin.party, said that they are pleased with the company’s performance, despite the challenging environment after the introduction of the European VAT and the Point-of-Consumption tax.
The executive pointed out that revenue from sports betting was ahead of what was reported last year, even though the 2014 FIFA World Cup took place during that period. He also revealed that casino operations remained strong in the first half of the year.
During the second quarter of 2015, bwin.party sold its World Poker Tour, United Games, and Winners brand. As mentioned above, the transactions generated disposal proceedings of €36 million.
The gaming company is to announce its financial results for the first half of 2015 on August 28.
Earlier today, Isle of Man-headquartered gaming company GVC Holdings confirmed that it had proposed to buy all of bwin.party’s “outstanding and to be issued share capital” for 110 pence per share or the total amount of £900 million.
Kenneth Alexander, Chief Executive of GVC, commented that they believe the potential transaction would result in “substantial financial and operating synergies” and would create more value for shareholders of both companies. More information on the matter is to be released in the days to come. GVC is to work closely with bwin.party’s advisers so as to secure acceptance of the proposal.
