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lutter Entertainment has shared a trading update for the third quarter of 2021. Total revenue rose by 12% in Q3 to £1.439 billion from £1.325 billion, while online revenue increased 13% versus the same period last year, driven by an average monthly player growth of also 13%. Sports revenue increased by 13% as well, while gaming revenue posted a modest 1% increase.
Australia’s online market increased by 20%, with customer retention bolstered by stay-at-home restrictions. The US market increased by 85%, with an online sports betting share of 42% in the quarter. The international market saw a 3% decrease, which would have been a 6% growth had it not been for Germany’s regulatory impact.
The group has now updated its full-year guidance. In its international operations, excluding the US, unfavorable sports results in the first 24 days of October have impacted EBITDA by about £60 million.
The Paddy Power, Betfair and FanDuel owner points to gamblers enjoying a winning streak in October as one of the causes of the updated guidance: Liverpool’s Premier League hammering of Manchester United and world boxing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury’s latest victory have played their role in this.
This, combined with an expected £10 million EBITDA impact in Q4 from a temporary Netherlands exit, has now changed Adjusted EBITDA expectations for the whole year to be in the £1.24 billion – £1.28 billion range, from previous guidance of £1.27 billion – £1.37 billion. New rules introduced require gambling operators to apply for a new license to offer online services.
On the other hand, US net revenue guidance remains unchanged at $1.8 billion – $2.0 billion, with Adjusted EBITDA loss expected to be between £250 million and £275 million, from previous loss guidance between £225 million to £275 million. This includes a £15 million impact from adverse sports results in October.
“Flutter delivered a strong third quarter performance, with double-digit growth in our global player base,” said Peter Jackson, Chiefs Executive of Flutter. “This resulted in the group delivering revenue growth of 12% despite challenging comparatives including a concentration of key sporting events in the prior year.”
The CEO further said the company was able to maintain a leadership position in the US, with the start of the NFL season providing an expected step-up in competitive intensity.
“We remained disciplined however, leveraging the broad set of high-quality marketing assets at our disposal,” added Jackson. “The customer response has been very encouraging with FanDuel now regularly experiencing staking levels on Sundays that match its 2021 SuperBowl performance.” Early engagement in the NBA since the recent start of the season has also been strong.
Despite results in October leading to winning margins below expected levels in the quarter to date, the executive claims the underlying strength of the business “is clear,” pointing to growth in the online recreation player base, which increased by 46% in just two years.
“With more international jurisdictions and US states on the path to regulation, we look forward to sustainably growing our global player base further in 2022,” concluded Jackson.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international//noticias/2021/11/02/60022-flutter-grows-in-us-year-expectations-cut-due-to-unfavorable-sports-results-and-dutch-exit
