Flutter Entertainment, parent of Paddy Power and the FanDuel online betting business in the US, reported sales and earnings that fell short of Wall Street projections after coming up on the losing side of a number of college basketball bets.
Sales grew 7.9 per cent to $3.67 billion (€3.25 billion), trailing analysts projections for $3.9 billion. Adjusted earnings of $1.59 per share came in below forecasts for $1.95.
February’s NFL Super Bowl was a boon, but the March Madness college basketball series didn’t turn out the way the company planned, chief executive officer Peter Jackson said. The tournament, which ended with the University of Florida’s victory on April 7th, saw four of the top seeds make it to the semi-finals.
“A huge number of the favourites won,” he said. “That was unexpected.”
Flutter raised its sales forecast for the full year by $1.15 billion due to two acquisitions and foreign currency changes. The annual forecast for US revenue was taken down by $280 million.
Its 2025 estimate for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation was raised slightly to $3.18 billion. – Bloomberg
