Bwin.party Profits Rise 13% To $115 Million In H1

Bwin.party has now released its half-year financial figures revealing a 3% increase in its revenue to €410 million compared to  €398 million in 2011, while net profit also recorded a dramatic increase of 13% to €92.3 million ($115m) from €81.9 million a year earlier.
Breaking the figures down further, Bwin.party’s online sports betting operation saw an increase in revenues of €128.1 million compared to €125.7 million in 2011 and its casino and games offering rose to €139.7 million, against €124.3m a year earlier. However, bingo was down to €31.5 million from €33 million, while poker provided the weakest performance falling from €104.9 million in 2011 to €96.4 million in H1 2012.
In addition, in the first half of 2012  Bwin.party had to settle a €31.5 million one-off charge with the Spanish government over back taxes stemming from the time it operated online in the Spanish market pre-online regulation. The move subsequently allowed the company to obtain a licence in Spain but chief financial officer Martin Weigold concedes Bwin.party is still finding the Spainish, as well as the Italian market, the most challenging due to the economic troubles affecting southern Europe.
Commenting on the disappointing poker figures, co-chief executives Norbert Teufelberger and Jim Ryan explained: “Poker is a key area of focus and we are determined to return it to growth through execution of a detailed plan that includes pooling our poker liquidity as well as repositioning our flagship PartyPoker brand. We expect both initiatives to have a positive impact on our performance, along with our recently launched FastForward Poker product.”
Bwin.party is the world’s largest publicly traded online gambling company and was created last year after the merger of Bwin Interactive Entertainment with PartyGaming. Back in February his year, shares in the company hit a high of 175.70 but this month fell to its lowest price of 91.15. Following announcement of its first half financial results, shares in Bwin.party are currently trading at 95.05, down 3.99%, giving the company a market capitalization of £771.74 million.