Flutter eyes drop in US losses this year
Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment has said it expects to reduce losses in its burgeoning US operations this year.
The call, as part of the group’s wider third quarter trading update, helped boost Flutter’s shares by over 2%.
On a group-wide basis, Flutter — which also owns the Betfair betting exchange business and leading Australian online betting firm Sportsbet — said third quarter revenues grew 10%, year-on-year. Revenues in the US, where Flutter owns specialist sports betting firm FanDuel and an online casino business, grew by 67%.
Flutter kept its full-year group earnings guidance unchanged at between £420m and £440m but raised its US guidance on the back of the better-than-expected revenue growth. It now expects its US losses to be around £40m-£45m this year, down from a previous expectation of £55m.
Last month, Flutter announced a €10bn purchase of Canadian online gaming business Stars Group, which will boost its international reach and strengthen its US operations.
“In the US, FanDuel has now launched online sports betting in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Indiana and we have been very encouraged by progress to date,” said Flutter chief executive Peter Jackson.
“Published market data in Pennsylvania shows that FanDuel quickly became the market leader with around 50% share, while we remain the clear number one operator in New Jersey also,” he said.
Flutter also said revenue across its retail business in Ireland the UK rose in the quarter, but online revenue was marginally down.
