Irish bookmaker Paddy Power (PAP) blamed its flat profits during 2013 on "punter-friendly" sports results. Andy Murray's win at Wimbledon, for example, and a string of unexpected results in the Premier and Champions League, forced the bookmaker to pay out record amounts to its customers. A €10m (£8.3m) headwind comprising product fees, higher taxes and Italian investment costs didn't help matters, either.
Aside from these challenges, the group had a reasonable enough year. The scale of its online business continued to grow, for instance, with active customer numbers having risen 19 per cent to 1.9m. Operating profit from the online business grew 10 per cent to €108m, too, driven largely by mobile revenues which leapt 73 per cent to €212m.
But, as with its competitors, Paddy Power anticipates a tough 2014 as regulatory and tax issues continue to bite. Indeed, finance director Cormac McCarthy believes that, had the Point of Consumption tax (due to be implemented in December) come into force in 2013, costs would have risen another €37m.
Broker Numis Securities expects 2014 pre-tax profit of €170m, giving EPS of 305ȼ (from €141m and 257ȼ in 2013).
PADDY POWER (PAP) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 6,020ȼ | MARKET VALUE: | €2.96bn | |
| TOUCH: | 6,020-6,025ȼ | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 7,140ȼ | LOW: 5,400ȼ |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.2% | PE RATIO: | 24 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 632ȼ* | NET CASH: | €172m** | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (€m) | Pre-tax profit (€m) | Earnings per share (ȼ) | Dividend per share (ȼ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 296 | 67 | 122 | 58.4 |
| 2010 | 426 | 111 | 193 | 75 |
| 2011 | 499 | 143 | 255 | 100 |
| 2012 | 654 | 139 | 251 | 120 |
| 2013 | 745 | 141 | 256 | 135 |
| % change | +14 | +1 | +2 | +13 |
Ex-div: 12 Mar Payment: 23 May £1 = €1.21 *Includes intangible assets of €162m, or 329ȼ a share **Excludes customer balances of €57m | ||||
