Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (Pwin) hasn’t exactly been lighting it up in 2011. The company saw earnings fall 21% in the first half of 2011, for which the company has placed the primary blame on “competitive pressures in poker, the closure of French casino and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.” According to financial results, earnings were €72.4m, compared to the €104.1m the pre-merged Bwin and PartyGaming recorded over the same period in 2010.
Despite the efforts of co-CEOs Jim Ryan and Norbert Teufelberger to remain optimistic by claiming that the suspension of Full Tilt Poker’s operating license would improve player numbers and average daily revenues, the bottom line is that all is not well.
Today, bwin.party announced that it purchased, through Numis Securities Limited, 291,935 of its ordinary shares for cancellation at an average price of 113.02 pence per share. According to the announcement, the highest price paid was 115.60 pence per share and the lowest price paid was 111.40 pence per share.
Bwin.party has now bought back 1,425,760 shares for cancellation, since 6 September 2011 when the buy-back programme commenced leaving the total number of bwin.party shares still in issue at 851,483,511, with the total number of voting rights in issue at 847,276,431.
