Interactive

Ireland – World Cup not enough to boost Paddy Power

Ireland-based bookie Paddy Power saw a drop in first half operating profits of 14 per cent, to €60.1m following a run of adverse sports results.

Revenues were up by seven per cent boosted by betting on the FIFA World Cup with very strong brand exposure, 148,000 online customers acquired and total group stakes of €198m. It reported strong and accelerated growth with sportsbook stakes up 17 per cent, online active customers up 25 per cent and online customer acquisition up 35 per cent.

Online, it had a record number of new customers of 795,000, up 35 per cent, with no increase in marketing costs per new customer. Sportsbook amounts staked up 22 per cent. Net revenue growth of five and operating profit reduction of 18 per cent to €43m, reflecting adverse sports results.

Patrick Kennedy, Chief Executive, Paddy Power, said: “The punter friendly results in football and racing which impacted the gross win percentage in the initial six months of 2014 failed to put a halt to our gallop with strong underlying performance and accelerating top line momentum delivered in the period. For example, we acquired more new sportsbook customers on paddypower.com in these six months than in all of 2013. We had a cracking World Cup which generated stakes of almost €200m, 130 per cent ahead of the previous tournament. Australia continues to power ahead and Italy has made significant progress. The second half has started well with good stakes growth and a rebound in sports results. At this juncture, we expect mid-teen percentage growth in EPS for the full year, despite an €11m headwind from product fees, new taxes and currency translation.”