Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment said profits and user numbers surged in the three months to the end of June, in the company’s first results since shifting its main stock market listing and operational headquarters to the United States.
The betting giant said net profit more than quadrupled to $297 million (€270 million) in the second quarter compared with the same period a year ago, while average monthly players (AMPs) – a key metric for gambling firms – rose 17 per cent. Revenue increased by 20 per cent to $3.6 billion. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) rose 17 per cent to $738 million.
“Flutter delivered another strong quarter, beating consensus and increasing our revenue and adjusted ebitda guidance as we continued to capitalise on our global scale,” chief executive Peter Jackson said in a statement. “The returns we are seeing give us the confidence to continue driving customer acquisition in the second half, building a bigger business, which bodes well for 2025 and beyond.”
Flutter shares jumped as much as 12 per cent in after hours trading in New York.
The results underline why the company has shifted its base from Ireland to the US. The firm, which counts American giant FanDuel among its brands, booked about $1.5 billion of revenue from its US businesses during the quarter while AMPs rose 27 per cent compared with a year earlier. Flutter is betting that trend can continue as more US states allow legal gambling. Since the US supreme court struck down a nationwide sports betting ban in 2018, 38 states have legalised betting, with 30 of those allowing online gambling.
As a result of what it called the “strong” second-quarter performance, Flutter is now guiding US revenue for the full year of $6.05 billion to $6.35 billion and adjusted ebitda of $680 million to $800 million. For its business outside the US, the company sees revenue coming in between $7.85 billion and $8.15 billion while adjusted ebitda is seen at $1.69 billion to $1.85 billion.
In the UK and Ireland, Flutter said revenue grew 18 per cent, driven by 12 per cent growth in sports betting and a 25 per cent increase in its online gaming business.
“Sportsbook revenue growth benefited from the Euros, which accounted for 10 per cent of sportsbook stakes in the quarter, and an overall 170 basis points increase in our sportsbook net revenue margin to 14 per cent,” it said. “Sportsbook stakes declined 1 per cent as the higher sportsbook net revenue margin reduced staking volume,” it added.
The increase in margins was driven by the expansion of our structural revenue margin,” the company said, as more punters used a so-called same game parlay wager, which allows gamblers to make multiple bets tied to one game. Sports results were also more favourable than the prior year by 110 basis points. Sports results were particularly favourable during the Euros, accounting for nearly half of the in-quarter results benefit, Flutter added.
