Bwin.Party's interims were rather disfigured by the merger of Bwin and Partygaming. But even if you strip out the impairment, amortisation and restructuring charges, clean cash profits on a pro forma basis still fell by 21 per cent to €81.9m, on revenue down 3 per cent.
The regulatory situation continues to be Bwin's main bugbear. A US crackdown on poker sites has not so far led to an increase in players for Bwin's regulated services because the remaining sites are competing ferociously for players. And in Germany, which makes up 22 per cent of group net revenue, there has so far been no formal response to European Commission and member state concerns over its proposed gambling law, which, if enacted, would drive Bwin out of the market. In addition, the business faced tough comparisons because of the FIFA World Cup last year, which led to 9 per cent fall in the number of daily active players with average daily net revenue down 4 per cent to €2.14m.
Cost savings, though, can be achieved and management expects to find an extra €10m of savings through the merger to take the total to €65m by 2013.
Peel Hunt forecasts full-year EPS of 13¢, down from 16¢ in 2010.
BWIN.PARTY DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT (BPTY) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
ORD PRICE: | 127p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.07bn | |
TOUCH: | 126-127p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 299p | LOW: 98.5p |
DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.2% | PE RATIO: | na | |
NET ASSET VALUE: | 142¢* | NET CASH: | €183m |
Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (€m) | Pre-tax profit (€m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (p) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | 177 | 20.3 | 4.8 | nil |
2011 | 273 | -42.5 | -6.6 | 1.56 |
% change | +54 | - | - | - |
Ex-div: 7 Sep Payment: 7 Oct *Includes intangible assets of €1.19bn, or 141¢ a share £1:€1.12 |