Flutter Entertainment: Paddy Power and Betfair owner ups guidance as US demand soars
Flutter Entertainment, the gaming giant behind Paddy Power and Betfair, has upped its guidance amid booming demand from its US audience.
The Dublin-headquartered firm, which is listed in New York but has a secondary listing in London, has projected a 20 per cent year-on-year increase in group revenue and a 34 per cent rise in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) by the end of 2024.
The company upgraded forecasts after group revenue jumped 20 per cent to $3.6bn (£2.8bn) in the three months ending 30th June 2024, up from $3bn (£2.3bn) in the same period of 2023.
This was driven by strong performances in all of its territories. US revenue climbed 39 per cent during the quarter from $1bn (£779m) last year to $1.5bn (£1.2bn). UK and Ireland revenue increased 17 per cent to $928m (£723) from £789m (£614m).
The number of Flutter’s average monthly players surged to 14.3m during the three months, up from 12.2m in the same period last year. The company said the Euros and Indian Premier League had helped to fuel this jump.
Peter Jackson, CEO, said: “Flutter delivered another strong quarter, beating consensus and increasing our revenue and Adjusted EBITDA guidance as we continued to capitalise on our global scale and the Flutter Edge.
“Our US performance was excellent in new and existing states reflecting our disciplined approach to customer acquisition and our best-in-class product, which offers our sportsbook customers the best pricing in the market.
“Outside of the US, we delivered an engaging offering during the European Football Championships, as over 4m customers placed a bet on the tournament, with results during the tournament very favourable for us.
“We achieved important milestones during Q2, as the NYSE became our primary listing and we moved our operational headquarters to New York. This reflects the importance of the US market to Flutter and our view that the US is the natural home for our business.”