French entry sees Bwin profits fall
Bwin saw its revenues rise in Q3 year-on-year, but profits were down due to expenditure in France, the company said today.
Bwin saw its total revenues for the third quarter rise 17.7% from the same period last year, but profits were down due to the expense of entering the newly regulated French market.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) went from 16.8m in Q3 2009 to 9.8m in Q3 2010, a decrease of 41.7%. This was “impacted by one-off expenses associated with the market entry in France and preparations to take advantage of forthcoming regulation in a number of jurisdictions,” it said in a statement.
The operator’s total revenues increased from 92.3m to 108.7m, due to “sound development of sports betting, poker and games”, the statement added.
Bwin had a very successful third quarter in 2009, recording a 75% year-on-year (YoY) increase in EBITDA to 16.8m.
Bwin’s number of active poker customers has risen by 70% in France following regulation five months ago. The operator recorded 1,208,000 active customers in the last quarter, an increase of 14.1%.
Meanwhile, in a statement to the London stock exchange, Bwin’s merger partner PartyGaming announced that clearance for the proposed merger with Bwin Interactive Entertainment had been received from the German Federal Cartel Office.
For more on industry consolidation, read Patrick Selin’s blog here.