Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (Pwin) saw earnings fall 21% in the first half of 2011, for which the company has placed primary blame on “competitive pressures in poker, the closure of French casino and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.” Earnings were €72.4m, compared to the €104.1m the pre-merged Bwin and PartyGaming recorded over the same period in 2010. But things are looking up. In comments accompanying their financial numbers, co-CEOs Jim Ryan and Norbert Teufelberger claimed that the suspension of Full Tilt Poker’s operating license at the end of June “removed a major competitor in poker and consequently we have seen an improvement in player numbers and average daily revenues.” Great… So now if Jim and Norbert can just convince regulators to de-legitimize the rest of their competition, this Pwin balloon could really soar!
Online sports broadcaster Perform Group saw half-year revenue climb 47% to £45m following the addition of seven new clients for their Watch&Bet service. But whereas 2010’s half-year figures showed a pre-tax profit of £6m, this year saw a £1.76m loss based on increased costs of acquiring the rights to Major League Baseball and Serie A football, which now accounts for over a third of Perform’s income. Oh yeah, and deciding to take the company public cost Perform a total of £3.2m. Still, it was fun seeing their name in the financial papers, wasn’t it?
Fresh off posting some seriously healthy H1 figures, Paddy Power says it will need to boost its workforce to help carry all the incoming money. Last November, the company announced it would add 500 positions to its Dublin operation, part of an expected 1,500 jobs increase across the entire group. Now CEO Patrick Kennedy expects the number of new hires for the Irish operation will be “substantially more” than previously planned.
