Paddy Power Owner
Paddy Power owner enjoys strong online boost from Covid-19. By Press Association 2021. A Paddy Power shop. The owner of Paddy Power revealed the Covid-19 restrictions which forced its high street bookie branches to close is costing the business an estimated £9 million-a-month in lost underlying pre-tax profits for each month lockdowns in the UK and Ireland remain in place. Mar 03, 2021 Paddy Power-owner’s profits wiped out by mega-merger costs Oscar Williams-Grut, Yahoo Finance UK March 3, 2021 at 4:11 am Flutter Entertainment, the gambling group behind brands like Paddy Power, PokerStars, and Betfair, hailed a “transformational” year in 2020 as it reported surging sales but sinking profits.
Paddy Power parent Flutter has received approval for its merger with Canadian gambling company Stars Group from the UK's competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) cleared Flutter's takeover of the Sky Bet owner, deciding there was enough competition among British bookmakers to stop Flutter from offering gamblers 'less favourable odds, less generous promotions.
Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment has said the US online betting market – in which it is the number one player - could be worth as much as $20bn (€17bn) by 2025; double what it had previously estimated.
In what the group called a “transformational” and “historic” year, Flutter cemented its market-leading position in the US in 2020 through the completion of its mega takeover of North American gaming and betting giant the Stars Group – which owned the likes of SkyBet and Full Tilt Poker - and buying the remaining share of fantasy sports betting business FanDuel that it didn’t already own.
Speaking on the back of Flutter posting its 2020 annual results, group chief executive Peter Jackson said: “Nowhere has our growth been more evident than in the US, where we have consolidated our number one position in this crucial market, with customer economics that continue to exceed our expectations, finishing the year as the first US online operator to reach over $1.1bn in gross gaming revenue.”
Flutter said it picked up a further 350,000 customers in the US over the course of the recent Superbowl weekend alone.
Overall, Flutter reported a strong set of 2020 results. Group revenue jumped 28% to £5.3bn (€6.1bn) and adjusted earnings – excluding the US operations - surged 23% to £1.4bn.
Pre-tax profit fell from £136m to just £1m after the deduction of accounting charges relating to the Stars takeover.
Flutter said it has seen strong momentum seen in the final quarter of 2020 carry on into this year, with group revenues up 36%, year-on-year, over the first seven weeks of the year.
While online drove Flutter’s revenue growth last year, its retail business – Paddy Power shops across Ireland and the UK – were heavily impacted by lockdown restrictions. The retail division has been taking an estimated £9m EBITDA loss for every month the shop networks have been closed due to lockdown.
Paddy Power Owner Operators
Despite this, Flutter’s chief financial officer Jonathan Hill said it does not spell the death of high street betting shops and physical Paddy Power shops remain a key part of the overall group product offering.
Paddy Power Owner Car
Mr Hill said the group remains “very committed” to its retail division and had seen strong demand – particularly in the UK – when shops temporarily reopened during lulls in lockdown last year.
Outside of its continued growth in the US, Flutter said it will continue to pursue bolt-on acquisition opportunities in growth markets.
In January, it acquired a 50.1% stake in India-based company Junglee Games – which runs online rummy and fantasy sports products. Flutter has an option to buy Junglee entirely in 2025.
“We will look to add to our portfolio of international businesses. The success of Adjarabet [in Georgia] has highlighted the benefits of acquiring local brand leaders to which we can bring additional expertise,” Flutter said.
Read More
Flutter Entertainment, the gambling group behind brands like Paddy Power, PokerStars, and Betfair, hailed a “transformational” year in 2020 as it reported surging sales but sinking profits
Flutter said its revenue rose by 106% last year to £4.3bn ($6bn). Sales were up 27% in the 12 months to 31 December 2020 when the impact of Flutter’s $11bn merger with The Stars Group, which completed last May, was factored in.
Paddy Power Owner House
Gross profits rose 92% to £2.8bn and adjusted earnings were up 109% to £889m. However, pre-tax profits sunk 99% to £1m due to costs associated with the mega merger.
Exceptional costs rose over 300% to £565m. Flutter blamed “an increase in the amortisation of acquired intangibles from £113m to £432m associated with the combination with TSG [The Stars Group] and deal costs associated with the TSG merger and the initial delivery of synergies.”
Debt costs rose over 670% to £110m due to the “significant increase in debt” post-merger. Net debt rose to £2.8bn.
Flutter cancelled its final dividend for the year, compared to a 200p payout per share in 2019.