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Flutter Entertainment has raised its 2024 guidance by 1%, despite notifying markets of unfavourable Q4 sports results impacting its US FanDuel business.
The NYSE-LSE gambling group published its Q3 accounts, describing it as an ‘excellent period’ in which Flutter brands achieved a 16% increase in Average Monthly Players (AMPs) to 12.9m and corporate revenues of $3.2bn—up 27% from 2023 comparatives of $2.55bn.
Headline figures showed group adjusted EBITDA increasing by 75% to $450m (Q3 2023: $258m), with Flutter achieving a higher EBITDA margin of 13.9% (vs. 10%).
Registering growth across all core markets, Flutter narrowed its Q3 net losses to $114m. This loss is attributed to cost adjustments, including $128m for the amortisation of intangible assets from past acquisitions and a $121m fair value loss related to its former Fox Option subsidiary.
FanDuel EBITDA swing
US trading saw FanDuel net an adjusted EBITDA of $58m, reflecting a significant turnaround from the $55m loss reported in Q3 2023.
FanDuel capitalised on the start of the new NFL season, reporting a 28% increase in US AMPs, which generated sportsbook revenues of $822m (+62%) and iGaming revenues of $368m (+46%).
In the US, Flutter maintains a “total online gross gaming revenue (GGR) market share of 35%, which includes a 41% share in sportsbook GGR, a 43% share in net gaming revenue (NGR), and a 25% share in iGaming GGR.”
However, Flutter notified investors that “Strong Q3 outperformance has subsequently been more than offset by unfavourable US sports results in Q4 to date.”
Peter Jackson, CEO, commented: “Flutter had an excellent quarter, with revenue growth accelerating to 27%, well ahead of market expectations, and increases to our revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance for 2024.
“In the US, we had a fantastic start to the new NFL season, with peak wagers per minute already higher than the Super Bowl LVII. Our proprietary product offering continued to drive strong parlay penetration as well as a step-up in live betting handle.”
UK-&-Ireland maintains growth momentum
Outside the US, Q3 results saw Flutter achieve a 15% increase in period revenues to $1.99bn and an adjusted EBITDA of $342m (Q3 2023: $313m).
A breakdown of UK & Ireland results showed Flutter brands achieving revenue of $868m, an 18% increase on 2023 comparatives of $719m.
Strong momentum for UK & Ireland brands reflected a 13% increase in AMPs, as Flutter benefitted from the summer sporting calendar combined with customer activation through strong cross-sell offers.
Adjusted EBITDA for the UK & Ireland rose by 29% to $237m, attributed to marketing efficiencies around the UEFA European Football Championship, which helped optimise spending and customer acquisition for respective brands.
Flutter Edge upgrades International Earnings
Meanwhile, Flutter’s International Unit achieved a 15% increase in revenues to $781m, with enhanced contributions from the Sisal Italia subsidiary.
As detailed, the International unit achieved “constant currency revenue growth in Italy (13%, Sisal Italy online revenue +41%), Turkey (+104%), Georgia (+21%), Armenia (+14%), and Brazil (+10%). In India, revenue was 17% lower in Q3 but more than doubled year-over-year in October as Junglee overcame tax changes introduced in October 2023.”
The International unit’s adjusted EBITDA increased by 28% year-over-year, rising to $152m in Q3 2024, up from $119m in Q3 2023, as brands like Sisal and MaxBet Serbia benefitted from Flutter Edge’s enhanced margins and market pricing.
Flutter is expanding the market reach of its International division with the Q3 acquisitions of Snaitech Italia and Brazilian sportsbook Betnacional.
Flutter’s portfolio is completed by Sportsbet Australia, which recorded an improvement in EBITDA results to $290m (Q3 2023: $270m), reflecting favourable sporting outcomes.
CEO Jackson commented: “Outside of the US, all divisions delivered a strong performance in the quarter as they leveraged the benefits of Flutter Edge. In the UK & Ireland, a broader product range across both sports and iGaming drove player and revenue growth. Sisal continued to make significant share gains in Italy as we look to expand our presence there with the addition of Snai. In Australia, Sportsbet has shown encouraging trends.”
The period concluded with Flutter raising its group guidance by 1% for both revenue and adjusted EBITDA. For the US, guidance is narrowed “with midpoints adjusted to $6.15bn in revenue (1% lower than previous guidance) and adjusted EBITDA to $710m (4% lower).
For Group Ex-US, revenue guidance has been increased by 3%, targeting $8.2bn, with adjusted EBITDA revised to $1.82bn, reflecting approximately a 3% increase.”
Flutter closedd its Q3 accounts by announcing a share repurchase program of up to $5bn over the next 3-4 years, with the first tranche set to begin on November 14, 2024, involving $350m in repurchases through to the end of Q1 2025.
Leadership declared: “We believe that the Group has exciting growth prospects due to our unparalleled leadership positions across the world, underpinned by access to the Flutter Edge. We expect to have significant capital to deploy over the coming years and I am excited to commence the share repurchase program in Q4.”
