Entain upbeat on profits after strong third quarter

The owner of Ladbrokes and Sportingbet has told shareholders that it expects to deliver core profits at the upper end of its guidance following a strong performance in the third quarter.
A boost from Entain’s UK and Ireland business, which returned to year-on-year growth “sooner than expected”, contributed to the group’s better-than-expected performance in the three months to the end of September. This helped to lift the gambling group’s net gaming revenues by 8 per cent in the quarter.
Online net gaming revenues, excluding the United States, rose 9 per cent thanks to higher volumes.
Its performance has given the FTSE 100 group “increased confidence” for the remainder of the year and bosses now expect mid single-digit growth in its online net gaming revenues for the year.
The management also anticipate that adjusted underlying earnings will be towards top of its guidance range of between £1.04 billion and £1.09 billion.
Gavin Isaacs, who took over as Entain’s chief executive last month, said: “Entain has great brands, an enviably diverse global portfolio and is bursting with talent, ambition and opportunities.”
Entain is one of the world’s biggest sports betting and gaming groups. Its sports betting brands include BetCity, Bwin, Coral, Eurobet, Ladbrokes and Crystalbet; gaming brands include Foxy Bingo, Gala, Ninja Casino, Partypoker and PartyCasino.
It also operates TAB NZ under a strategic partnership and has BetMGM, a joint venture in the United States whose net gaming revenues rose 18 per cent in the third quarter.
Entain’s shares rose 41½p, or 6 per cent, to 753½p but its shares are still down on the week after the stock was swept up in a sell-off of London’s listed bookmakers on Monday following reports that the chancellor is considering a £3 billion tax raid on the sector to help to plug a £22 billion hole in the public finances.
The company did not mention the possibility of new taxes on the sector but analysts at Investec argued that speculation about the taxes was “far fetched”. Roberta Ciaccia, an analyst at the bank, added that today’s figures suggested that Entain “may have turned a corner in terms of operational performance”.