MARKET REPORT: Ladbrokes owner Entain shrugs off American football woe
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Shares in the owner of Ladbrokes and Coral leapt higher yesterday as it sought to reassure investors it has not been upended by the same sort of losing streak as rival Flutter. In an unscheduled update to the City, Entain said it expects full-year earnings to be at the top of the £1.04billion to £1.09billion range it outlined in October.
The company said its latest guidance came ‘despite customer-friendly’ sports results in the US where its BetMGM tie-up with MGM Resorts International operates. Although it did not mention Paddy Power and Betfair owner Flutter by name, the statement did pointedly note ‘updated guidance from industry peers’.
Flutter last week flagged a hit to profits after the highest rate of favourites winning NFL American football matches in almost 20 years. Bookies tend to lose heavily when favourites win because of vast numbers of punters betting on them. Losing streak: Flutter last week flagged a hit to profits after the highest rate of favourites winning NFL American football matches in almost 20 years.
Entain shares fell 10 per cent in the three days after the Flutter update amid fears over how it was faring. But they jumped 9 per cent in early trading yesterday before closing flat at 624.2p. The stock remains down more than 70 per cent since its 2021 peak, however.
Flutter shares – which are listed in New York and London – rose 2 per cent, or 410p, to 20880p yesterday. Russ Mould, investment director at broker AJ Bell, said: ‘Entain has dodged a bullet in terms of punters cleaning up on NFL bets over the past few months.
