The world’s largest online betting company has increased its profit growth forecast after a six-month winning streak for gamblers swung back in favour of the bookmaker during the second quarter.
Rory McIlroy’s win at the Masters in April was Flutter’s biggest golf event. Despite being well backed by UK and Irish customers, his win over US fan favourites, Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler, saved Flutter “millions”. The French Open Ladies final, where Coco Gauff beat Aryna Sabalenka, was the highest-staking women’s match on record, the company said.
Flutter Entertainment, formerly Paddy Power Betfair and owner of betting brands FanDuel and Sportsbet, also benefited from the early exits of the LA Lakers and Boston Celtics, both well-backed teams going into and during the NBA playoffs.
The good results for the bookmaker came after it lowered its profit expectations for the US, its biggest market, in May by $180 million after a run of unfavourable results. This included “adverse” results related to March Madness, America’s premier college basketball tournament, when favourites were big winners.
Coco Gauff won the French Open at Roland Garros in June
ANDY CHEUNG/GETTY IMAGES
The FTSE 100 company has now raised its adjusted profit forecast to $3.3 billion for the year, up from previous guidance of $3.18 billion in May, which would mark 40 per cent year-on-year growth. It also now expects to deliver a 23 per cent increase in annual revenues to $17.3 billion.
The upgrade to guidance came as the company revealed group revenues rose 16 per cent to $4.2 billion in the second quarter, lifting adjusted profits by a quarter to $919 million. Average monthly punters grew by 11 per cent to almost 16 million.
• Flutter forecasts record earnings thanks to FanDuel
Peter Jackson, chief executive, said the revenue boost in the period came as the company continued “to build scale positions in the most attractive markets through strong organic growth and value creating M&A”.
Flutter’s growth in the US, one of the key reasons the company decided to shift its primary stock market listing from London to New York last year, was boosted by Fanduel, the largest online sports betting platform in the US, and Flutter’s biggest source of revenue. In the US, revenues rose 17 per cent to $1.8 billion.
Peter Jackson, the chief executive of Flutter Entertainment, at the New York Stock Exchange last year
NYSE
Investors have flocked to Flutter since 2018 when a Supreme Court judgment struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, which banned sports betting in most states.
Outside of the US, Flutter recorded a 13 per cent rise in adjusted profit to $591 million as revenues increased 15 per cent to $2.4 billion. Its performance was boosted by the completion of the acquisition of Snai in Italy and NSX in Brazil.
Jackson said: “Such varied achievements in one quarter are a great reflection of our teams’ focus and ability to execute effectively, leaving us well positioned for the second half of the year.”