bwin.party digital entertainment announced Tuesday that one of its Non-Executive Directors has made two purchases following a report by the company admitting profits had suffered a sharp decline.

Geoff Baldwin on Friday purchased 226,000 shares at 147.83p, followed by a further 74,000 on Monday at 148.02p. Together the transactions cost the director £443,631.

The group said Friday that clean earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell 17% year-on-year from €199.3m to 164.9m to reflect flat revenue, increased gaming taxes and compliance costs.

The company was hit by the introduction of a 5.0% turnover tax on sports betting in its core market of Germany in July, though it said that the majority was passed on to customers.

bwin.party registered a loss before tax of €23.5m for 2012, significantly lower than the €422.9m loss made in 2011, mainly due to a sharp decrease in impairment losses.

Nevertheless, the final dividend was raised by 10% to 1.72p per share, bringing the total payout for 2012 to 3.44p per share, up from 3.12p previously.


Top Director Buys

Obtala Resources (OBT)
Director name: Mr Simon Rollason
Amount purchased: 221,260 @ 903.00p
Value: £1,997,978

Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY)
Director name: Mr Geoff Baldwin
Amount purchased: 226,000 @ 147.83p
Value: £334,096

Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY)
Director name: Mr Geoff Baldwin
Amount purchased: 74,000 @ 148.02p
Value: £109,535

Alliance Trust (ATST)
Director name: Mr Win Robbins
Amount purchased: 11,544 @ 430.60p
Value: £49,708

Consort Medical (CSRT)
Director name: Mr Richard Cotton
Amount purchased: 3,894 @ 765.00p
Value: £29,789

PureCircle Ltd. (DI) (PURE)
Director name: Mr William Mitchell
Amount purchased: 10,000 @ 252.00p
Value: £25,200

UBM (UBM)
Director name: Dame Helen Alexander
Amount purchased: 2,000 @ 712.26p
Value: £14,245


Top Director Sells

Abcam (ABC)
Director name: Dr Jonathan Milner
Amount sold: 974,000 @ 450.50p
Value: £4,387,870

Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd (Singapore Reg) (JAR)
Director name: Mr Benjamin Keswick
Amount sold: 20,000 @ $65.58
Value: $1,311,684

UBM (UBM)
Director name: Mr Robert Gray
Amount sold: 38,430 @ 710.88p
Value: £273,191

Related share prices
UBM (UBM) share price
Alliance Trust (ATST) share price
Consort Medical (CSRT) share price
Abcam (ABC) share price
Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd (Singapore Reg) (JAR) share price
PureCircle Ltd. (DI) (PURE) share price
Obtala Resources Ltd (OBT) share price
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) share price