Paddy Powers ahead despite woe in home Irish market

Paddy Power, the Irish bookmaker with a growing presence in the UK, has seen a flurry of industry-friendly results at the end of last year help it deliver a record set of figures.

The firm, which also runs an online gaming business, yesterday reported a 55 per cent hike in 2010 profits to €104.2 million (89.7m), with the concluding stages of the World Cup contributing to a strong sporting result in the final six months.

Its gross win - the amount left by losing punters - rose 50 per cent to €443.5m and Paddy Power said 2011 had started well thanks to ongoing favourable sporting results and against weak comparatives.

Amounts staked rose 16 per cent and gross win increased 38 per cent in the first two months.

Last year's figures were also flattered by the group's first full year of contribution from Australian betting firm Sportsbet, which Paddy Power recently snapped up.

It bought 51 per cent of Sportsbet in 2009 and last week completed the takeover of the remaining stake.

The firm's Irish retail business traded through a tough year for the country's economy, with a drop in average stakes per slip by cost-conscious punters leaving like-for-like total amounts staked down 7 per cent.

However, the group saw earnings in the 207-strong Irish estate increase 8 per cent as it opened nine shops.

In the UK, its recent expansion saw operating profits leap from €1.3m in 2009 to €7.4m in 2010.

The business, which increased by 31 shops to 124 last year, also benefited from a stronger pound and a World Cup boost.

In November, Paddy Power outlined plans to create more than 800 jobs in Britain as part of a three-year expansion programme. It revealed that it will hire a further 1,440 staff in total, with 500 in Ireland and 130 in Australia.

Yesterday's results showed that the firm took home a gross win of €18m from last summer's World Cup tournament, with total stakes up to €86m.

It had a winning year for sporting results after being hammered in 2009 by unfavourable horse racing results and a clean sweep by Irish teams of rugby's Grand Slam, Heineken Cup and Magners League titles.

Paddy Power has also been forging ahead with new online innovations, with online earnings up 52 per cent - or 26 per cent excluding Sportsbet. Almost three-quarters of its profits were generated online last year.

It is also continuing to expand outside of Ireland and said nearly two-thirds of 2010 profits were generated outside the Republic.

The Dublin-based group is relying on fast-growing online operations and new markets such as Australia and France to compensate for weak conditions at home, where the betting market has shrunk more than 30 per cent since the property bubble burst.

Breon Corcoran, the firm's chief operating officer, said: "We are very happy with how the year has started so far. EPS (earnings per share] and operating profit are both forecast to be up 5 per cent and that is coming off a World Cup year with very good sporting results as well."Corcoran said the company was on the prowl for new markets with deregulation dictating where they will go next.

"Over the next two years there is talk of half a dozen markets opening up in Europe and elsewhere. Spain, Greece, Denmark and other countries are all looking at introducing online legislation. But it's too early to say where we will go next."