Paddy Power finds going tough

Irish bookies Paddy Power was out of favour in London today after reporting the impact of a successful run for punters at a number of key race meetings.

In a trading statement, Paddy Power said that poor results for bookies at the Cheltenham Festival and Grand National would knock €4m from operating profits in the first half of this year.

Analysts previously expected a figure for the period of between €21m and €23m.

The warning, which sent Paddy Power shares down 12% to 334p, comes a week after rival Stanley Leisure said that results had gone against it.

Paddy Power said there had been no fundamental change in trading and gross margins would come in within the expected range – albeit at the lower end.

It added that growth in turnover since the start of 2003 had positioned it well for the rest of the year.

The group is boosting its presence in the UK with two shops opened since the start of the year taking its total to five, all in London.

Several other potential UK branches are in the pipeline with five licence hearings scheduled for the next three weeks and six other applications made.

The group has a flourishing online operation as well as 134 shops in Ireland, including four shops at racecourses.