Bwin.party 2014 EBITDA and revenues down 6%
Operator's full-year results hit by impact of ISP blocking in Greece and continued decline in poker
Bwin.party this morning revealed both net revenues and EBITDA tumbled 6% in 2014 as the company felt the brunt of ISP blocking in Greece and the continued decline of regulated poker.
The operator’s revenues for the 12 months ended 31 December 2014 fell year-on-year from 652.4m to 611.9m. Clean EBITDA was also down from 108m in 2013 to 101.2m last year.
But a non-cash impairment charge of 104m against poker-related and other “intangible assets” and “non-core investments” saw profits after tax tumble 329% from 41.1m to a loss of 94.3m.
The operator said total revenues and clean EBITDA were lower than expected due to “further declines in poker” that “also held back casino”, and the full-year impact of ISP blocking in Greece, despite a 30m reduction in costs.
And while 56% of bwin.party’s revenues came from regulated and/or taxed markets during the period, compared with 53% in 2013, the firm said its shift to regulated markets was progressing “more slowly” than it would like.
Revenues were down across the board bar sportsbook, which remained flat at 237.1m thanks to the impact of the World Cup which took place last summer.
Poker suffered particularly badly with revenues down 29% year-on-year to 81.7m, casino revenue dipped 6% to 203.7m, while bingo remained relatively flat at 51.9m.
“We have made solid progress this year in growing our share of revenues from nationally regulated and/or taxed markets, increasing our mobile footprint and reducing our cost base,” Norbert Teufelberger, bwin.party chief executive, said.
“However, the full year impact of ISP blocking in Greece coupled with the structural decline of regulated poker markets in Continental Europe affected our overall financial performance for the year,” he added.
The operator’s US business, where it has partnered with land-based casino the Borgata in New Jersey, posted a 9.8m loss during the period despite taking the lion’s share of market in the Garden State.
Bwin.party said its social gaming business Win posted a 6.7m during the period.
The firm also offered an update on its Q1 2015 performance with average daily net revenues down 12% to 1.5m and poker down 30% to 187,300 in the eight weeks to 25 February 2015.
Bwin.party’s share price was up 2p to 80.6p after early morning trading.