High-scoring Cowboys-Seahawks game costs Flutter $80m but bookie extends revenue and market share
Gambling giant Flutter has said punters cleaned them out thanks to a series of sports results in its fourth quarter – but the bigger-than-expected windfall was heavily cushioned by margin growth and continued UK and US growth.
In an update to markets on Thursday, the Paddy Power and Betfair owner said its fourth-quarter revenue was hit by customer-friendly sports results of $343m (£270m).
One Thursday night NFL game – the Dallas Cowboys’ 41-35 win over the Seattle Seahawks – costs them $80m (£63m) alone. Other hits to the bottom line included the Jets – Browns game and the Dolphins-Jets game, both of which saw punters betting high-scoring favourites cleaning up.
The one-off NFL setbacks were offset by a surprisingly good gross revenue margin.
Shares are up more than 13 per cent in early trading.
US revenue for the three months ended 31 December was $1.4bn (£1.1bn), missing third-quarter guidance by $225m (£147m), with UK revenues up just shy of 20 per cent year on year.
Total revenue across all Flutter’s businesses was £9.5bn, up 24 per cent from the £7.7bn raked in during 2022.
The US and UK businesses are making up for a continued slowdown in Australia, where revenue dropped two per cent in the fourth quarter, “reflecting guided racing trends”.
Flutter chief executive Peter Jackson said: “While sports results were very customer friendly, particularly on the NFL in November, the underlying momentum in the business remains very strong heading into 2024.
“Outside of the US, the quarter traded in line with expectations, with continued strong momentum in the UK&I supported by recent product enhancements and International growth driven by our “Consolidate and Invest” markets,” headded.
The UK’s largest listed gambling stock said it is on track for its secondary listing in New York on 29 January, announced last summer.
“This is a pivotal moment for the Group as we make Flutter more accessible to US-based investors and gain access to deeper capital markets,” said Jackson.
Flutter recently generated 40 per cent of its revenues from the US market where FanDuel, its online fantasy sports platform, has surged in popularity.
AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould noted that despite a setback from customer-friendly sporting results in the US, investor enthusiasm for the upcoming US stock market listing and positive business momentum outweighed this concern.
He said: “While the bookie usually wins in the end, the market can probably expect that over a single quarter it can have a bad run.
“The need to engage in higher promotional activity is potentially more of a concern – although not something which is keeping shareholders up at night just yet,” Mould added.