Flutter’s first half better than expected

Business News

Flutter Entertainment said first-half proforma adjusted earnings and revenue rose as its combination with The Stars Group offset the effect of the coronavirus pandemic.

Profit for the six months ended June 30 fell 70% to GBP24.0 million from GBP81.0 million. This resulted largely from separately disclosed items, unrelated to usual business activity, which multiplied to GBP194.3 million from GBP58.8 million.

Revenue was up 51% at GBP1.54 billion from GBP1.02 billion the previous year following the combination. Pro forma, including Stars Group financial for a full six month period in 2019 and 2020, as well as a six-month contribution from Adjarabet in 2019, revenue was up 22% in the first half.

Chief Executive Peter Jackson said: “While maintaining strong trading momentum, we have also made good progress since May on the integration with [Stars Group]. All four regional CEOs have been appointed and most key leadership roles have now been filled. Important decisions are progressing on our technology plans and we are aligning our regulatory and responsible gambling approach across the expanded group.

In Australia, integration is particularly well advanced and we will migrate BetEasy customers over to Sportsbet imminently. We plan to provide a more detailed strategic update, as well as a synergy update, at the time of our full year results in March 2021.

“The second half has started well, with good sports betting performance following the return of major sport events, whilst gaming performance has remained resilient. Looking ahead, we have identified promising opportunities to increase investment across the group and, while the outlook with respect to Covid-19 remains highly uncertain, the diversification of our group means we approach the future with confidence.”

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