05-03-2007 Another strong year for Paddy Power

The Irish bookmaker reported a 60% increase to EUR 525.4m in online revenues and a 38% growth to EUR 24.3m in operating profit from its online channel. The number of active customers rose 49% to over 110,000 with a developing propensity of the customers to use both the sportsbook and the gaming products.

"Our online business continues to grow strongly in both sportsbook and gaming and I am pleased to confirm that the results also reflect a significant level of investment for future growth," commented Chairman Fintan Drury.

The amounts staked online on the sportsbook increased by 60% to EUR 497m, gross win increased by 52% to €39.1m, bet volumes grew 70% to 16.2m, while the average bet value decreased 6% to EUR 30.74. Paddy Power said the continued enhancement of its online business has propelled paddypower.com to be the third largest online sportsbook in the UK measured by the number of visitors.

The Irish bookmaker also said it differentiates itself versus its online competition through a broader range of Money-Back Specials and early payouts as well as by keeping the customer service in-house and by continuing to use the technology to provide better and more accessible information.

"Many of our online competitors have big international brands with very substantial budgets and indeed competition has increased even further in the last five months since the US market was effectively closed down. Nonetheless, the prospects for all of our online businesses are strong, as betting and gaming continue to increase in popularity, as the economies and also broadband penetration in our key markets continue to grow, and as we focus relentlessly on differentiating our proposition against the competition," said the company in a statement.

Overall, Paddy Power reported a 31% increase in group turnover to almost EUR 1.8bn, while operating profit was up 51% to EUR 45.5m and profit before tax rose 52% to EUR 47.6m.

"2006 has been an exceptional year for Paddy Power, with very strong growth in each of our businesses. Notably the results also reflect substantial investment to exploit future growth opportunities, which position us well for continued success in 2007 and beyond," commented CEO Patrick Kennedy.