Gambling company bwin.party digital entertainment plc posted its financial results for the first half of the year. Total revenue for the six months ended June 30 amounted to €296.5 million, down 6% from the €317.1 million reported for the same period a year ago.
The decrease was mainly attributed to the fact that no FIFA World Cup took place this year as well as to lower sports margins, poker market declines, and the impact that the EU VAT had on a number of markets.
Proceeds from mobile/touch products increased 50% year-on-year and accounted for 30% of the overall gross gaming revenue. A growth was reported in all possible verticals.
Revenue from sports betting amounted to €111.1 million during the first half of the year compared to €127.4 million for the same period a year ago. The casino & games division of the company generated a total of €98.4 million compared to €103.3 million in 2014. Poker operations posted revenue of €33.9 million. The amount of €44.1 million was reported for the first half of 2014. Bingo generated €26.9 million compared to €26.7 million from this time last year. Other gaming-related operations posted a total of €26.2 million.
bwin.party said that clean EBITDA increased 2% year-on-year to €47.3 million despite the higher taxes and the lower revenue generated over the period. Excluding the negative impact the newly introduced Point of Consumption tax as well as the EU VAT had, clean EBITDA would have amounted to €57.7 million, up 24% year-on-year. Operating profit amounted to €5.3 million. Profit after tax totaled €2.9 million.
During the six months ended June 30, a total of 370,000 new player sign-ups were reported. In comparison, 485,800 new customers registered during the same period a year ago. A daily average of 127,100 opted for bwin.party’s gambling options compared to the 163,000 recorded in 2014.
Norbert Teufelberger, Chief Executive Officer of bwin.party, said that bearing in mind the company’s year-to-date performance and its upcoming expansion into two new regulated markets as well as the launch of new mobile products and CRM tools, they are optimistic about its full-year financial results.
It was announced in July that bwin.party was to be purchased by rival 888 Holdings for the amount of £898 million. However, gambling operator has also placed a number of bids for the company with the latest valuing it at £1.1 billion.
bwin.party said that although there have been ongoing discussions with GVC, the Board has not backed off from its recommendation for 888’s bid and related shareholder documents are to be sent to shareholders anytime soon.
