Results blow for Paddy Power
Punters have dealt a €11m profits blow to Paddy Power after the bookmaker was stung by poor racing and football results.
The Dublin-based group, which has more than 225 shops in the UK but generates three-quarters of its profits from the internet, highlighted winning bets at the Melbourne Cup and Champions League football.
The company said it now expects profits for the year to be around €11m lower than its guidance in August, when it also reported that results during July had been unfavourable.
Shares fell by 8% today, while rivals William Hill and Ladbrokes were also lower.
The company said that the poor run of sports results masked a good underlying performance, with sports betting turnover from its retail estate up 5% on a like-for-like basis. It has also opened 46 shops in the year to date, 37 in the UK and nine in Ireland.
Paddy Power now expects to achieve low-to-mid single digit percentage operating profit growth this year.
It also warned that competition was intensifying in the UK online market, although it said its website had performed well by achieving double digit growth in sports turnover and egaming revenues.
