Bwin.party earnings fall for third straight year but acquisition hopes burn bright

UK-listed online gambling operator Bwin.party digital entertainment recorded a pre-tax net loss of €97.9m in 2014 thanks to falling revenue and a massive writedown of its struggling PartyPoker division.

Bwin.party’s 2014 revenue fell 6% to €612m, although mobile revenue doubled to €153m. Earnings fell 5% to €102.2m, marking the third consecutive year of negative trajectory. The black ink turned to red thanks to a non-cash impairment charge of €104.4m against “poker-related” and other intangible assets and non-core investments.

Revenue from regulated/taxed markets – Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and New Jersey – rose 1% to €345.2m while Bwin.party’s remaining grey/black market business fell 14% to €266.7m.

Bwin.party’s operations in New Jersey’s regulated online market recorded a €9.8m loss for the year. The Win social gaming division, which Bwin.party has been unsuccessfully trying to sell, lost €6.7m.