Betting firm’s profits fall 15%

Operating profits fell by 15.6% at the Irish operations of international betting and gaming group Ladbrokes last year, although the business did manage to marginally grow revenue.

Full-year figures, covering the last calendar year, from the British bookmaker show an 8.2% decline in group operating profit to £190.3 million (€229.6m), an 8.5% drop in pre-tax profits to £134.6m and a 0.4% increase in group annual revenues to £980.3m. Basic earnings per share fell by nearly 69%, but the dividend for shareholders was up by 2.6%, to 7.80p.

Ladbrokes’ net debt levels were also reduced, last year, by almost 8%, to £453.9m.

Sales were down across Ladbrokes’ European retail operations — which include Ireland, Spain and Belgium — but rose by over 2% in its core market of Britain, where they amounted to £152.3m.

In Ireland — where Ladbrokes is ranked second only to Paddy Power and where the group operates nearly 300 shops — net revenue was up by just under 2% last year to £79.2m. There was also a healthy 10.3% increase in the amount of money staked by punters, with the amount won back by the company up by 2% to £81.4m. However, operating costs relating to its Irish operations rose from £59.4m to £62.1m — mainly due to the taking on of 10 new shops during the year — and operating profit here fell from £10.9m to £9.2m.

“Faced with the current economic downturn, we’ve focused on local competition and a drive to increase market share in the Republic, as well as maintaining a tight control on costs across the whole Irish estate,” the company said yesterday.

Group chief executive Richard Glynn said that while management remains cautious regarding the economic outlook, “real momentum within the business” is becoming evident. Since the beginning of this year, Ladbrokes’ group net revenue is up — year-on-year — by nearly 15%.