28th Aug 2015 06:36
LONDON (Alliance News) - Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PLC Friday said it made a profit in the first half of 2015, having suffered a loss in the first half of 2014, even though revenue was hit by the introduction of VAT in some EU countries and a tough comparative period which included the football World Cup.
The online gaming company said it made a pretax profit in the six months ended June 30 of EUR3.1 million, after it made a EUR100.4 million loss in the same period the year before, but revenue declined to EUR296.5 million from EUR317.1 million, which it said reflected the absence of the FIFA World Cup, lower margins in sports, market declines in poker, and the impact of EU VAT in certain markets.
Bwin.Party said that the absence of a major football tournament and the EU VAT also hit trading in the eight weeks to August 25, where average daily net revenue fell 9% versus the same period in 2014.
Bwin.Party is currently in talks with smaller peers 888 Holdings PLC and GVC Holdings PLC regarding a possible takeover of the company. Bwin.Party agreed an offer with 888 back in July but has since considered a proposal from GVC. On Thursday, Bwin.Party asked GVC to clarify the best terms on which it is prepared to to make an offer for the company.
"Whilst discussions with GVC are continuing, there has been no change to the board's recommendation for 888's offer," Bwin.Party said.
The company said it will pay an interim dividend of 1.92 pence, up 2% on the 1.89p it paid the prior year.
"Based upon our progress in the year-to-date and with the further roll-out of our latest mobile products, the introduction of new CRM tools and planned entry into two new nationally regulated markets later this year, we remain confident about the full year outlook," Chief Executive Norbert Teufelberger said in a statement.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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