Publishing a trading update for the three months to March 31, 2019, betting and gaming operator group Paddy Power Betfair has reported strong year-on-year growth, fuelled by solid performance in a number of key markets.
Total revenue in the quarter (unaudited) was £478m, up 17 per cent against the same period in 2018. The group cited “excellent growth” in Australia, the US and across its European business, with Sportsbet, FanDuel and the recently acquired Adjarabet all credited.
Gaming performed particularly well, jumping 26 per cent year on year, to £113m, although this is barely a quarter of overall group revenue, which betting continues to dominate.
In a statement released to the city this morning, CEO Peter Jackson said: “Q1 was a good quarter for the group with revenues up 17 per cent, notwithstanding customer-friendly sports results in the UK.
“Underlying momentum remains good for Paddy Power with 22 per cent growth in average daily actives. For Betfair, we continue to make good progress on the technology development work to enhance our global customer propositions which will enable us to accelerate international growth.”
In Australia, Sportsbet revenues were up 20 per cent on Q1 2018, while the US FanDuel business made “huge progress,” Jackson said, citing a 50 per cent share of the New Jersey sports betting market.
PPB also took the opportunity to stress its responsible gambling credentials, with the operator able to monitor more than 115 customer behaviours daily and assigns risk scores to each active customer.
Looking ahead, PPB said that trading in April has been in line with the group’s expectations.
“In the US, FanDuel remains well positioned to generate good returns on ongoing sports betting investment and for rest of the group we remain on track to meet our full-year profit expectations despite the adverse sports results in Q1,” said Jackson
Online gaming revenue was up 31 per cent in the quarter, boosted by Adjarabet. Gaming revenue, excluding Adjarabet, increased by 14 per cent, driven by ongoing strong growth in Paddy Power. Building on its established business in Georgia and Armenia, Adjarabet saw Q1 gaming revenues climb 25 per cent on a pro-forma basis.
In the US, revenue jumped 47 per cent with the non-sportsbook business up 12 per cent. The group attributed an 83 per cent increase in revenues for its US Betfair Casino to “sportsbook cross-sell”.
“Our New Jersey casino market share increased to 14 per cent in Q1 2019 from a steady 11 per cent over the previous two years,” the company said.
Retail is the only fly in the ointment for PPB, with revenue dropping two per cent to £77m, “with two per cent machine gaming growth offset by a five per cent decrease in sports revenues”.
Trading in April has been in line with expectations, confirmed Jackson. “In the US, FanDuel remains well positioned to generate good returns on ongoing sports betting investment and for rest of the group we remain on track to meet our full year profit expectations despite the adverse sports results in Q1,” he said. “We remain excited about the growth opportunities that lie ahead for the group.”
