Another set of disappointing results from bwin.party

bwin.party Digital Entertainment’s third quarter 2013 report failed to impress Wednesday with the company posting a 21 percent decline in revenue.  The result was attributed to the Greek ISP block to its product, softer margins in sports betting, a decline in the poker market and its move from volume to value strategy.

Third quarter 2013 key performance indicators include:

–   Total revenue down 21 percent to Euro 145.7 million (2012: Euro 184.4 million), in-line with previously reported trading to 25 August 2013.

Sportsbetting:

–   Sports betting revenues were down 10 percent versus the prior year to Euro 52.9 million (2012: Euro 58.7 million) reflecting the shift from ‘volume to value’ with the number of unique active players in the quarter down by 20 percent.

–   Sports betting wagers fell by 22 percent to Euro 645.2 million (2012: Euro 828.3 million), attributed to shift from ‘volume to value’ and ISP blocking in Greece where the amount wagered in September was down by 74 percent versus the prior year.

–   The gross win margin although up versus the prior year was slightly lower than expected at 9.1 percent (2012: 7.8 percent)

–   Average daily revenue in sports betting was down 10 percent year-on-year at Euro 575 000 (2012: Euro 638 000)

Casino and games:

The shift from ‘volume to value’ and declines in poker continued to impact bwin.party’s casino business during the period:

–   Number of unique active players down 34 percent year-on-year.

–   ISP blocking saw the amount wagered on casino from Greek customers down 75 percent that contributed to a 16 percent decline in the total amount wagered in casino during the quarter to Euro 1,650.3 million (2012: Euro 1,957.8 million).

–   Average gross win margin declined to 3.8 percent (2012: 4.0 percent) reflected a shift in games mix towards table games

–   Average daily revenue was down 23 percent to Euro 544,600 (2012: Euro 708,700).

Poker:

–   Net revenue fell by 37 percent year-on-year to Euro 23.3 million (2012: Euro 37.0 million).

–   The launch a new product into dotcom markets has begun to have a positive impact, the company said.

–   Marked increase following new product launch in revenues from mobile and tablet devices.

Bingo:

–   Total revenue down 18 percent year-on-year to Euro 12.2 million (2012: Euro 14.8 million), the UK, its largest market, impacted by aggressive campaigns from competitors.

–   Italian bingo business also impacted by aggressive campaigns from competitors as well as a 23 percent year-on-year decline in the overall market.

–   Spanish bingo brand Binguez, delivered a 22 percent increase in revenue year-on-year although Spain remains small in the context of total bingo revenue. Average net daily revenues fell by 18 percent to Euro 132,600 (2012: Euro 160,900).

Commenting on today’s announcement, chief executive officer Norbert Teufelberger said:

“As we expected, our underlying Q3 performance appears to have represented the floor in what has been a transitional year for the Group.  Performance in the period was impacted by our shift from ‘volume to value’, continued declines in poker ahead of our dotcom relaunch, ISP blocking in Greece and a softer than expected sports margin in September.

“Whilst year-on-year comparisons for the current trading period are also impacted by the factors outlined above, average daily revenue for the six weeks to 11 November is up 18 percent versus the average for the previous quarter.  All verticals have grown despite the continued impact of ISP blocking in Greece, although performance in sports was weaker than anticipated due to a softer than expected sports margin during the first three weeks of October.

“We have made excellent progress in respect of reducing our cost base.  We now expect to exceed the Euro 70 million target for 2013 that was communicated at the beginning of the year and this will help us to mitigate some of the impact from Greek ISP blocking which began during August.

“In the US, we received our transactional waiver from the Division of Gaming Enforcement in New Jersey on 8 November and are on-track to launch poker and casino as soon as we are cleared to do so.”

Looking forward, mobile is identified as a key area of focus for the business, while an improved tournament offer in poker and the launch of new HTML5 poker and sports products on mobile is expected to launch early 2014.

In the six weeks to 11 November 2013 average daily net revenue (excluding other revenue) was up 18 percent versus the previous quarter at Euro 1,769,700 (Q3/2013: Euro 1,505,200).

bwin.party said all product verticals have seen growth versus the prior quarter, despite the weak sports margin in the first three weeks of October.  While seasonality has been a key driver, so has the introduction of our new poker product and new mobile extensions.

“We remain excited about the opportunity to launch into New Jersey as soon as we are cleared to do so and while the potential size of the market remains unknown, we and our partner are determined to secure a meaningful market share.

“In Europe, we are focused on increasing our performance in nationally regulated and-to-be regulated markets, primarily driven by new product launches and an increased presence in mobile supported by targeted marketing campaigns.”

Related and similar