Entain beats expections for Q3 revenue
The London-listed gambling operator saw revenue rise by 6 per cent year-on-year.
UK.- Entain has reported that its Q3 revenue was up 6 per cent year-on-year, beating expectations for the quarter. The result means that year-to-date revenue was up by 7 per cent, and by 3 per cent when excluding US operations via the joint venture BetMGM.
The FTSE-listed company has reaffirmed its full-year guidance of a 7 per cent rise in revenue and underlying profit of £1.10bn to £1.15bn.
The company’s growth continues to be driven by online gambling, where net gaming revenue rose by 8 per cent in Q3 and by 9 per cent for the year to date. Retail revenue is flat for the year to date but was up by 2 per cent year-on-year in Q3.
The quarter saw revenue from UK and Ireland operations climb by 8 per cent year-on-year, with growth of 15 per cent online and 2 per cent in retail. Internationally, retail growth actually surpassed online, with revenue up by 6 per cent compared to 1 per cent for digital channels.
The picture varied significantly across geographies, with revenue from Brazil falling by 11 per cent and revenue from Australia down by 6 per cent. Meanwhile, Italian revenue was up by 6 per cent and there was double-digit growth in Canada, Austria, Spain and Georgia.
CEO Stella David stated: “Entain’s transformation continues at pace, with our strategic execution and expanding bandwidth delivering growth across our portfolio. Whilst we still have more to do, our Q3 performance is further evidence of the quality of our diverse business and its underlying momentum.”
She added: “BetMGM’s continued success and strong year to date performance is driven by our strengthened sports product and leading iGaming offering, coupled with refined player engagement. We are delighted that BetMGM is achieving sustainable profitable growth and expects to begin distributing cash to parents later this year. With Entain becoming ever stronger and BetMGM growing profitably, we are increasingly confident in delivering consistent underlying growth and generating more than £0.5bn of annual cash from 2028.”
The quarter saw Entain complete the rollout of its Group BetStation platform in UK and Ireland retail betting shops. Other recent initiatives have seen Entain’s Beter incorporate the SuperSport and STST brands into its betting portfolio in Croatia and Poland.
Warning on possible UK gambling tax rise
David recently warned that Entain would consider betting shop closures if the UK government announces a rise in gambling tax in the autumn budget next month. Speaking on the earnings call today, David added that in the even of any tax rise, “there are a number of levers we could pull”. She suggested that this could include less generous bonuses, less attractive odds and a reduction in marketing. “These are all things that one does to mitigate against unwelcome tax increases,” she said.
