Flutter Entertainment exceeds expectations with surge in revenue growth

Flutter Entertainment said its performance in the third quarter of the year had exceeded expectations as the gambling giant attracted increased numbers of customers.

The owner of Paddy Power and Sky Bet reported that group revenue had increased by 30 per cent to £1.3 billion for the period in a trading update released on Wednesday morning, with Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation) for the year outside the US expected to be in the region of £1.275-1.35bn, an increase of £25 million on the previous guidance.

Online revenue grew 33 per cent, while average daily customers grew by 41 per cent globally.

Paddy Power Betfair and Sky Betting & Gaming recorded revenue growth of 32 per cent and 26 per cent respectively, with Flutter saying the last-named had benefited more from favourable results across both football and racing in the quarter.

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Chief executive Peter Jackson said: "Flutter’s performance in the third quarter exceeded our expectations in sports and gaming. Our strong trading continued as we grew market share in key regions while retaining our commitment to safer gambling practices."

Flutter said there had been a "standout" performance in Australia, where Sportsbet had recorded revenue growth of 76 per cent, while in the US Flutter said customer acquisition had gone better than expected, with more than 1.8m active customers during the quarter.

Jackson added: "We're pleased to have retained our position as the number one online operator in the US, where FanDuel has made significant progress against each of its key priorities.

"We have enhanced the customer experience, secured further strategic media partnerships and acquired more new customers than anticipated. We're on track to generate more than $1.1 billion of GGR [gross gaming revenue] in the US this year, which will mark a major 'first' for an online operator.

"We're now a truly global business with significant scale. As such we are in a unique position to respond to the many opportunities we see across our growing markets. Looking ahead, while the outlook with respect to Covid-19 remains uncertain, we're confident our business is well positioned to capture further growth in a sustainable and responsible way."

This week Jackson wrote in the Racing Post that the government's long-awaited gambling review was "badly needed" as gambling rules had failed to keep pace with technology.

Goodbody gaming and leisure analyst Gavin Kelleher described the figures as "another very strong update from Flutter", while analysts at stockbrokers Davy said: "Significant investment across the group . . . is strengthening positions in key markets, including the US, Australia and even the UK."

Flutter’s share price closed up 4.96 per cent at 13,425p on Wednesday.

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