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Paddy Power and Sky Bet owner Flutter Entertainment blamed punter-friendly sports results as it lowered its revenue and earnings guidance for the year in a first quarter trading update on Wednesday evening.
The update also included news of a shake-up in senior management at the company, with Amy Howe – chief executive of Flutter’s US arm FanDuel – set to leave.
As news of her departure emerged in the US on Wednesday afternoon, Flutter’s share price ended the day more than four per cent down on the New York Stock Exchange.
Christian Genetski, president of FanDuel, is set to assume leadership of the FanDuel business, while Dan Taylor, currently chief executive of Flutter International, will assume the newly created role of president of Flutter Entertainment.
Flutter also announced it was reviewing its secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange and warned that it could result in delisting.
Flutter Entertainment trading update key takeouts
- Group revenue up 17 per cent to $4.3 billion in the first quarter
- Flutter expects adjusted earnings for the year of $2.87bn, down on previous guidance due to punter-friendly sports results
- Amy Howe, chief executive of US arm FanDuel, is leaving the business
- Company is reviewing its listing on the London Stock Exchange
Group revenue for the quarter was up 17 per cent at $4.3 billion, while adjusted earnings were two per cent higher at $631 million.
However, Flutter updated its guidance for the full-year in 2026 due to unfavourable sports results in the first quarter and launch costs in the state of Arkansas.
As a result Flutter said that full-year revenue was expected to reach $18.3bn with adjusted earnings of $2.87bn, down from $18.4bn and $2.97bn respectively.
In the UK and Ireland revenue grew by two per cent, with gaming growth of 14 per cent but sportsbook revenue down 11 per cent due to an “unfavourable swing” in sports results.
The company did however refer to there being “strong customer engagement during a record Cheltenham Festival”.
Flutter Entertainment chief executive Peter Jackson
Flutter’s chief executive Peter Jackson said the group’s performance in the first quarter had been “encouraging”.
However, he added: “While we made good progress during the quarter, there remains more to do to ensure the improving US sportsbook trends continue and we announced today the management changes we are making to best position us for our next phase of growth.
“The core fundamentals of our business remain strong, and I am confident that we have the right strategy, structure and global portfolio of local hero brands to capitalise on the significant long-term growth opportunity ahead. I look forward to further progress as we move through the rest of 2026.”
In his letter to shareholders, Jackson said Flutter was “well placed” to deal with the increase in remote gaming duty in the UK announced in last year’s budget and which came into force on April 1.
However, he warned that a consequence of the increase in taxes “will be to drive some UK customers toward unregulated operators”.
He welcomed interventions such as the extra £26 million allocated to the Gambling Commission by the government to tackle the issue, adding: “We look forward to further steps to ensure that accessing illegal operators is restricted.”
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