REG - Entain PLC - Q1 Trading Update

EntainAnnouncement

Tue 07:02

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RNS Number : 5160G  Entain PLC  29 April 2025

29 April 2025

 

Entain plc

("Entain" or the "Group")

 

Strong start to FY25 with Q1 Group Net Gaming Revenue ahead of expectations

 

Entain plc (LSE: ENT), the global sports betting and gaming group, today
reports trading for the period 1 January to 31 March 2025 ("Q1").

·      Better than expected Q1 performance supported by ongoing
operational progress

·   Total Group Net Gaming Revenue ("NGR"): including 50% share of
BetMGM(1), up +9%, +11%cc(2) with strong Q1 Online performances from both
Entain and BetMGM(1) (Online inc. US, +12%, +15%cc(2))

·     Q1 Online NGR exc. US: up +6%, +10%cc(2), ahead of expectations
primarily due to strong volumes in the UK, as well as operator friendly sports
results

o  UK&I Online NGR +23%cc, ahead of expectations; Brazil NGR +31%cc(2),
in line with expectations

·      BetMGM(1) Q1 stronger than expected: NGR +34%cc(2) YoY and on
track to be EBITDA(3) positive in FY25

·      Stella David appointed as CEO providing leadership continuity and
momentum in strategic execution

·      FY25 outlook: reiterating expectation of mid-single-digit
constant currency growth in Online NGR

 

Stella David, CEO of Entain, commented:

"We have made a strong start to 2025. Our improving operational execution saw
us exit 2024 with clear momentum which has continued in Q1. Entain has a clear
and compelling strategy with today's results further evidence of its delivery.
We are in the early stages of our journey of improvement and are driving ahead
at pace.

Entain's portfolio of podium positions in attractive and regulated growth
markets underpins the structural growth embedded in our business. We are
confident that our current momentum and underlying growth will deliver quality
and sustainable earnings with a clear pathway to generating over £0.5 billion
of annual cashflow in the medium term."

 

Q1 trading highlights:

·      Group NGR exc. US up +8%cc(2) (Online +10%cc(2), Retail +2%cc(2))

o  Better than expected performance reflects strong UK&I Online volumes
partially offset by softer UK&I Retail gaming volumes, as well as the
benefit of operator friendly sports results

o  Online NGR up +10%cc(2) with volumes and sports margins ahead of
expectations

o  Retail NGR up +2%cc(2) as sports margin benefit was partially offset by
lighter UK gaming volumes

·      UK & Ireland NGR up +10%cc(2) (Online +23%cc(2), Retail
-1%cc(2))

o  UK&I Online NGR beat expectations due to strong volume growth (+21%),
which we anticipate will be ahead of the market

·      International(4) NGR up +5%cc(2) (Online +4%cc(2), Retail
+11%cc(2))

o  Brazil NGR +31%cc(2) continued to perform strongly, adapting well to the
new licenced market regime

o  Australia NGR -8%cc(2) reflecting customer friendly sports results

·      Entain CEE(5) NGR +12%cc(2) (Online +13%cc(2), Retail +11%cc(2))
with Croatia continuing to perform particularly strongly

·      BetMGM(1) Q1 NGR was ahead of expectations at +34%cc(2), driven
by our leading iGaming offering, strengthened sports product and refined
player engagement

o  Record iGaming revenues in Q1 with NGR up +27% and record Online Sports
NGR up +68%

o  Q1 EBITDA(3) of $22m, driven by positive contribution from both iGaming
and Online Sports

Outlook

Entain is encouraged by year-to-date trading, with strong Online volume growth
supported by operator friendly sports margins in Q1.

Entain reiterates its expectation for Online NGR growth of mid-single-digit
percent in 2025 on a constant currency basis and remains comfortable with
market expectations(6) for FY2025 EBITDA.

BetMGM(1) has also enjoyed a strong start to the year and has increased
confidence in delivering its revenue expectations of $2.4-$2.5 billion and to
be EBITDA(3) positive in FY25.

Ongoing operational and strategic progress underpins confidence in Entain's
pathway to annual cash generation pre dividends of over £0.5bn in the medium
term.

 

Q1 2025 Trading performance

                       Q1 2025: 1 January to 31 March 2025
                       Total                        Gaming  Sports  Sports   Sports

                       NGR                          NGR     NGR     Wagers   Margin
                       Reported(7)  CC(2)           CC(2)

 UK & Ireland          +10%         +10%            +11%    +8%     +3%      +0.6pp
    Online UK&I    +22%         +23%            +24%    +18%    +10%     +0.4pp
    Retail UK&I    (1%)         (1%)            (4%)    +3%     (3%)     +1.2pp

 International(4)      +0%          +5%             +1%     +8%     +3%      +0.7pp
    Online Int'l       (1%)         +4%             +1%     +7%     +4%      +0.4pp
    Retail Int'l       +7%          +11%            +6%     +12%    (2%)     +2.5pp

 CEE(5)                +10%         +12%            +20%    +10%    +0%      +2.3pp
    Online CEE         +11%         +13%            +20%    +10%    +0%      +2.3pp
    Retail CEE         +9%          +11%            +25%    +9%     +2%      +2.6pp

 Group (exc. US)       +5%          +8%             +7%     +8%     +3%      +0.8pp
    Online             +6%          +10%            +11%    +9%     +4%      +0.6pp
    Retail             +1%          +2%             (3%)    +6%     (2%)     +1.7pp

 BetMGM(1)             +36%         +34%
    Online             +39%         +37%
    Retail             (21%)        (22%)

 Total Group inc.      +9%          +11%

50% of BetMGM(1)
    Online             +12%         +15%
    Retail             +1%          +2%

 

Notes

(1)   BetMGM revenues comprise of Online (Sports and iGaming), and Retail
(Sports plus Other) revenues

(2)   Growth on a constant currency basis is calculated by translating both
current and prior year performance at the 2025 exchange rates

(3)   EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and
amortisation, share based payments and share of JV income. EBITDA is stated
pre-separately disclosed items

(4)   International segment comprises of all other countries outside the UK
& Ireland, Entain CEE and US reporting segments, including Australia,
Italy, Brazil, Netherlands, Georgia, New Zealand, Germany and Spain

(5)   Entain Central and Eastern Europe segment (Entain CEE) comprises of
Croatia and Poland

(6)   Company complied consensus EBITDA FY25 £1,110m as at 24 April 2025

(7)   2025 results are unaudited, with the tables presented relating to
continuing operations and including both statutory and non-statutory measures

 

 

Q1 Conference Call & Audio Webcast

An analyst call will be held today, Tuesday 29 April 2025 at 9:00am BST.
Participants may join via webcast or by conference call dial in, approximately
10 minutes before the start of the call.

Live webcast link: Entain Group 2025 Q1 Trading Update
(https://kvgo.com/IJLO/Entain_2025_Q1_Trading_Update)

To participate in the Q&A, please use dial ins below and register via the
following link: Register for Q&A
(https://www.netroadshow.com/events/login?show=d5e39e9f&confId=81107)

                UK
                          +44 20 3936 2999

                US
                          +1 855 979 6654

                Global Dial-In Numbers
(https://www.netroadshow.com/events/global-numbers?confId=81107)

                Access Code:        286020

A replay and transcript will be available on our website: Results Centre -
Entain Group (https://www.entaingroup.com/investor-relations/results-centre)

Enquiries

 Investor Relations - Entain plc        investors@entaingroup.com (mailto:investors@entaingroup.com)
 Media - Entain plc                     media@entaingroup.com (mailto:media@entaingroup.com)
 Sodali & Co                            Tel: +44 (0) 20 7250 1446

 Rob Greening/Russ Lynch/Sam Austrums   entain@sodali.com (mailto:entain@sodali.com)

About Entain plc

Entain plc (LSE: ENT) is a FTSE100 company and is one of the world's largest
sports betting and gaming groups, operating both online and in the retail
sector. The Group owns a comprehensive portfolio of established brands; Sports
brands include BetCity, bwin, Coral, Crystalbet, Eurobet, Ladbrokes, Neds,
Sportingbet, Sports Interaction, STS and SuperSport; Gaming brands include
Foxy Bingo, Gala, GiocoDigitale, Ninja Casino, Optibet, Partypoker and
PartyCasino. The group operates the TAB NZ brand as part of a long-term
strategic partnership with TAB New Zealand. The Group owns proprietary
technology across all its core product verticals and in addition to its B2C
operations provides services to a number of third-party customers on a B2B
basis.

The Group has a 50/50 joint venture, BetMGM, a leader in sports betting and
iGaming in the US. Entain provides the technology and capabilities which power
BetMGM as well as exclusive games and products, specially developed at its
in-house gaming studios. The Group is tax resident in the UK and is the only
global operator to exclusively operate in domestically regulated or regulating
markets operating in over 30 territories.

Entain is a leader in ESG, a member of FTSE4Good, the DJSI and is AAA rated by
MSCI. For more information see the Group's website: www.entaingroup.com
(http://www.entaingroup.com/) .

 

Important notices

Certain statements in this announcement are forward-looking statements which
are made in good faith, including with respect to Entain's current
expectations, intentions and projections regarding its future performance,
strategic initiatives, anticipated events or trends and other matters that are
not historical facts and which are, by their nature, inherently predictive,
speculative and involve risks and uncertainty because they relate to events
and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. All
statements that address expectations or projections about the future,
including statements about operating performance, strategic initiatives,
objectives, market position, industry trends, general economic conditions,
expected expenditures, expected cost savings and financial results are
forward‐looking statements. Any statements contained in this announcement
that are not statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be,
forward‐looking statements. These forward-looking statements, which may use
words such as "aim", "anticipate", "believe", "could", "intend", "estimate",
"expect", "may", "plan", "project", "will" or words or terms of similar
meaning or the negative thereof, are not guarantees of future performance and
are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. There are a number
of factors including, but not limited to, commercial, operational, economic
and financial factors, that could cause actual results, financial condition,
performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or
implied by these forward-looking statements. Many of these risks and
uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond Entain's ability to control or
estimate precisely, such as changes in taxation or fiscal policy, future
market conditions, currency fluctuations, the behaviour of other market
participants, the actions of governments or governmental regulators, or other
risk factors, such as changes in the political, social and regulatory
framework in which Entain operates or in economic or technological trends or
conditions, including inflation, recession and consumer confidence, on a
global, regional or national basis. Given those risks and uncertainties,
readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this
announcement. Entain and its affiliates, and any of its or their respective
directors, officers, partners, employees, advisers or agents (collectively,
"Representatives") expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update
or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise unless required to do so by applicable
law or regulation.

In particular, no statement in this announcement is intended to be a profit
forecast or profit estimate and no statement of a financial metric (including
estimates of EBITDA, profit before tax, free cash flow or net debt) should be
interpreted to mean that any financial metric for the current or future
financial years would necessarily match or exceed the historical published
position of Entain and its subsidiaries. Certain statements in this
announcement may contain estimates. The estimates set out in this announcement
have been prepared based on numerous assumptions and forecasts, some of which
are outside of Entain's influence and/or control, and is therefore inherently
uncertain and there can be no guarantee or assurance that it will be correct.
The estimates have not been audited, reviewed, verified or subject to any
procedures by Entain's auditors. Undue reliance should not be placed on them
and there can be no guarantee or assurance that they will be correct.

This announcement is being issued by and is the sole responsibility of Entain.
No representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be made as to,
or in relation to, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted
by or on behalf of, Entain (apart from the responsibilities or liabilities
that may be imposed by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended
or the regulatory regime established thereunder) or by its affiliates or any
of its Representatives as to, or in relation to, the accuracy, adequacy,
fairness or completeness of this announcement or any other written or oral
information made available to or publicly available to any interested party or
its advisers or any other statement made or purported to be made by or on
behalf of Entain or any of its affiliates or any of its Representatives in
connection with Entain and any responsibility and liability whether arising in
tort, contract or otherwise therefore is expressly disclaimed.

LEI: 213800GNI3K45LQR8L28

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