Paddy Power parent, Flutter, closed 15 Irish betting shops in the past year and added to its UK estate because footfall in Irish city centres has not recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic in the same way as in Britain, chief executive Peter Jackson has said.
Mr Jackson was speaking to reporters after Flutter Entertainment published results for the six months to June 30th, which showed profit at its Irish and British arm of the business fell by 13 per cent as a spike in gambling brought on by Covid-19 lockdowns receded.
Flutter recorded an adjusted operating profit of £258 million (€305 million) in its Irish and British operations, down from £297 million (€351 million) the year before.
The drop was caused by a 27 per cent fall in profit from its online activity, from £356 million to £259 million (€420 million to €306 million). The retail operation fared far worse, recording a 98 per cent decline to just £1 million (€1 million) from £59 million (€70 million) previously.
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The report showed the company closed 15 bookie shops in the Republic over the year. Speaking to reporters, Mr Jackson said the shops were closed because consumer behaviour in Ireland has not bounced back on the same level as the United Kingdom.
“The UK has returned to normal footfall levels that we saw pre-Covid,” he said. “We haven’t seen the same thing in Ireland, and that is particularly a city centre phenomenon. I think that’s a mixture of the social interaction post-Covid, and also the return to offices.
“Some of the city centre locations are not yet getting back to where they were pre-Covid with the same sort of levels of activity. We took the decision then with some of these leases coming to their end of life. But we do remain committed to our retail estate in Ireland.”
Revenue in the retail operation in Ireland and Britain more than trebled compared to the prior year when shops had been closed from January to April in the UK and from January to May in Ireland due to Covid-related restrictions. In the UK, both sports and gaming revenue returned to 2019 levels. In Ireland however, revenue was at 69 per cent of 2019 levels, “reflecting the slower return of retail footfall”.
Overall revenue declined 4 per cent in Ireland and Britain, which the company put down to its “proactive safer gambling actions” and the return to pre-Covid levels of gambling following a spike during pandemic lockdown restrictions.
The gambling giant cited Real Madrid’s win over Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Champions League as one of its “biggest losers” in Ireland and Britain during the period.
In terms of the online business in Ireland and Britain, revenue was 13 per cent lower which the company put down to its safer gambling measures, which it said reduced revenue by £48 million (€57 million). Average player days were also down 10 per cent.
It said online adjusted Ebitda in Ireland and Britain fell £95 million (€112 million) year on year to £303 million (€358 million).
Overall, Flutter swung to a loss of £51 million (€60 million) from a £77 million (€91 million) profit in the same period a year ago.
However, the group’s shares soared 10.5 per cent on Friday – the biggest intraday gain in 12 months – on the back of developments in the United States where its FanDuel subsidiary has grown strongly and helped Flutter increase its market share to 51 per cent.
Flutter delivered revenue growth of 9 per cent, driven by a 14 per cent increase in its recreational player base. Adjusted Ebitda of £476 million (€563 million) – a 20 per cent fall – included a £132 million (€156 million) investment loss from its US division.
In terms of outlook, group revenue was in line with expectations in the first five weeks to August 7th. “We currently see no discernible signs of a consumer slowdown and resultant reduced spending levels across our businesses,” it said.
