Jette Nygaard-Andersen takes charge of Entain as new CEO

Entain upgrades 2021 expectations reaping sports growth benefits 

The board of Entain Plc has lifted the firm’s full-year EBITDA guidance to be in the range of £850-to-£900 million, citing a strong H1 performance.

This morning Entain published its interim trading update, registering total group revenues up 11%, as the FTSE100 gambling group updates investors on its UK retail reopening and international expansion projects.

Headline results, saw Entain declare that it had achieved ‘twenty-two consecutive quarters of double-digit growth in online with net revenues up 22% in Q2 attributed to a +65% NGR increase achieved by its online sports betting units. 

Strong Q2 growth was maintained despite German market regulatory adjustments, which held back Entain’s online NGR performance against comparative periods.

“Our diversified business model has enabled us to grow our business in all key markets while navigating channel and product mix changes as retail re-opens and we annualise last year’s restricted sports calendar.” Remarked Entain Group CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen.

Q2 trading saw Entain begin to reopen its European retail units, in which the group registers ‘positive early trends as restrictions are eased in phases’.

Positive trends saw Entain disclose that customer volumes for its Ladbrokes and Coral UK estates had returned to around 10% lower than pre-pandemic levels, whilst the company prepares to reopen its Italian and Belgium retail units that had remained under lockdown during 2021 trading. 

Strengthening its online portfolio, during Q2 Entain completed its acquisition of leading Baltic market operator Enlabs and Portuguese sportsbook Bet.pt, assets that contributed 4% of online NGR.

Meanwhile, Entain underscored the strong growth momentum achieved of its US joint-venture of BetMGM as ‘the Number two operator for sports betting and iGaming across the US with 21% of market share’ – contributing an H1 NGR of circa $350 million.

Supporting the firm’s long-term growth strategy, the board of Entain was able to expand terms on its existing revolving credit facility to £590 million, with the FTSE100 firm maintaining a further €300m loan for the purpose of funding M&A developments.

Nygaard-Andersen concluded: “We have a powerful platform at Entain that enables us to deliver consistent growth from our existing markets, whilst also entering new markets, all powered by our industry-leading technology capabilities, business intelligence and analytics.  

“Our platform provides us with a significant opportunity to align our business better with our customers and increasingly deliver a wider breadth of exciting products, content and experiences as the worlds of media, entertainment and gaming converge.

“Following our strong first half, we are upgrading our expectations for the full year and we remain confident and excited by the breadth and scale of the long-term sustainable growth opportunities ahead of us.”

SBC News Entain upgrades 2021 expectations reaping sports growth benefits 

 

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