Online gambling company bwin.party digital entertainment plc posted information about its financial performance during the fourth quarter of 2015. Net revenue increased 5% as compared to the results reported for the same period of 2014.
The Vienna-headquartered company noted that the growth was mainly driven by its sports betting and casino divisions. In addition to this, a strong growth in revenue from mobile services was also posted. bwin.party attributed the excellent performance of its mobile division to the various product enhancements that were introduced last year.
The online gambling company further noted that excluding the impact of the recently introduced EU VAT, net revenue increased 8% year-on-year. A continued and considerable progress on achieving additional costs savings was reported, as well.
bwin.party also provided information about the sale of Visa Europe to Visa Inc. for the overall amount of €21.2 billion, including an earn-out of about €4.7 billion. The online gambling company said that its subsidiary Kalixa Payments Group would be paid an upfront consideration share of about €10 million. The exact amount is to be determined upon completion of the transaction. The deal is expected to be closed in the second quarter of 2016.
On December 15, 2015, an extraordinary general meeting of bwin.party shareholders was held, during which they approved all the necessary resolutions regarding the £1.12-billion acquisition deal proposed by Isle of Man-based gambling company GVC Holdings PLC.
bwin.party said that the transaction is subject to approval by the Court in Gibraltar and is expected to be finalized on February 1. The new GVC shares are to be admitted to the London Stock Exchange on February 2. Once the proposed deal is completed, bwin.party shareholders would own a total of 66.6% in the newly formed entity, which is to generate annual cost savings of more than €125 million by 2018.
Following its most recent financial performance update, bwin.party said that its results are to be further enhanced in 2016 due to the full-year benefit of costs saving achieved in the former fiscal year as well as the upcoming Euro Championship. The company also expressed optimism that the merger with GVC Holdings would additionally contribute to the further improvement of its operations and financial results.
