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UK – Flutter confident business will grow sustainably and responsibly

By Lewis - 11 November 2020

Flutter Entertainment has reported a rise in Q3 revenue of 27 per cent year-on-year on a pro forma basis to £1.3bn, with sports revenue up 32 per cent to £798m and gaming 21 per cent higher at £527m.

Group online revenue growth is up 33 per cent, with average daily customers up 41 per cent globally. Paddy Power Betfair revenue rose 10 per cent to £351m (encompassing a 14 per cent rise online and two per cent decrease in retail).

Sky Betting & Gaming revenue rose 26 per cent to £231m and PokerStars revenue up five per cent to £262m. The group cited ‘stand-out Australian performance’ with revenues at its Sportsbet arm up 76 per cent to £320m, alongside the successful completion of BetEasy’s customer migration.

On the back of its Q3 performance, Flutter has raised its full-year Ebitda expectations for operations excluding the US to between £1.275bn and £1.35bn assuming no further retail closures beyond current lockdowns in Ireland and England.

US revenue grew 82 per cent to £161m and sportsbook stakes rose 155 per cent to £1.25bn. In the US, the group increased its Ebitda loss forecasts from £140m-£160m to £160m-£180m following heavy investment.

“Flutter’s performance in the third quarter exceeded our expectations in both sports and gaming. Our strong trading continued as we grew market share in key regions while retaining our commitment to safer gambling practices.

“During the quarter we continued to expand our recreational customer base while bringing our businesses together. This included the successful migration of the BetEasy customer base onto the Sportsbet platform in Australia.

“We are very pleased to have retained our position as the number 1 online operator in the US, where FanDuel has made significant progress against each of its key priorities,” commented Peter Jackson, Chief Executive.

He added: “We have enhanced the customer experience, secured further strategic media partnerships and acquired more new customers than anticipated. We are on track to generate more than $1.1 billion of GGR in the US this year, which will mark a major ‘first’ for an online operator.

“We are 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, whilst the outlook with respect to Covid-19 remains uncertain, we are confident that our business is well positioned to capture further growth in a sustainable and responsible way.”