US move will not hit Irish jobs, says Paddy Power owner

Paddy Power owner Flutter’s decision to shift its operational headquarters to the US will not hit Irish jobs, according to its chief financial officer, Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson.

The group confirmed the move to New York on Tuesday after reporting that revenues grew 16 per cent to $3.4 billion (€3.2 billion) in the first three months of this year.

Mr Edgecliffe-Johnson stressed that the relocation of its operational HQ from Ireland would not affect jobs in its Irish operation, based in Clonskeagh, Dublin 14, which would remain as the group’s international hub.

“We will remain incorporated and tax resident in Ireland,” he added.

Flutter expects to have its primary listing on the New York Stock Exchange confirmed on May 31st after shareholders backed the transfer from London at its annual general meeting two weeks ago.

The group, which also owns Betfair, Sky Bet and Sportsbet in Australia, will maintain a secondary listing in London. It left the Dublin market last year.

A string of results that saw punters come out ahead during the US March Madness basketball tournament left it with a $76 million swing against its US sports book, Flutter reported. The group said sports results favouring its customers had a negative impact of about five percentage points on its revenue growth in the three months ended March 31st.

Nevertheless, the group remained confident that earnings this year would be about $710 million in the US and $1.73 billion in all other regions combined, the midpoints of guidance given in March.

The group reported a loss for the quarter of $177 million after recording non-cash expenses. This included $184 million to account for Fox Corporation’s option to acquire 18.6 per cent of Flutter’s main US business, FanDuel, which the group must treat as a liability.

Flutter chief executive Peter Jackson said the company has had “an excellent start” to the year.

“In the US, FanDuel’s top-line momentum is translating into strong growth in US-adjusted ebitda [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation] and market share gains,” he said. “We are focused on continuing to expand our player base, market share and embedding future profits within our business through disciplined investment.

“Outside of the US, our focus on delivering the best products for our players is driving good momentum in key markets, such as the UK where the launch of Super Sub on Paddy Power has been our most successful product launch to date.”

Mr Jackson said the group also reached “an all-time record” in April in terms of market share in Italy with online sports betting and the iGaming market.