Flutter Entertainment’s Sky Bet sees profit drop amid rising salary costs and inflation

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Sky Bet’s profit took a hit in its latest financial year as operating expenses surged by nearly £45m. The company, owned by Flutter Entertainment, reported a pre-tax profit of £48.9m for 2023, according to recently filed accounts with Companies House.

The dip in profit was attributed to a £44m increase in operating expenses, totalling £310.2m for the year, due to high inflation and rising salary costs. However, the firm’s revenue did see an increase, rising from £469.7m to £495.4m over the same period, as reported by City AM.

Interestingly, no dividend was paid out this year, despite a £107.2m payout in 2022.

Sky Bet, headquartered in Leeds, became part of Flutter Entertainment in 2020 following the latter’s acquisition of The Stars Group for £3.4bn. Prior to this, Sky Bet was 80% owned by CVC Capital Partners, following a £600m deal in 2015.

The results follow Flutter Entertainment’s recent announcement of increased guidance due to soaring demand from its US audience. The Dublin-based firm, listed in New York with a secondary listing in London, projected a 20% year-on-year increase in group revenue and a 34% rise in adjusted EBITDA by the end of 2024.

The firm revised its predictions upwards in August after group revenue soared by 20 per cent to $3.6bn (£2.8bn) in the quarter ending 30 June, 2024, a significant increase from $3bn (£2.3bn) during the same period in 2023.

This surge was fuelled by robust performances across all its markets. US revenue saw a 39 per cent hike during the quarter, rising from $1bn (£779m) last year to $1.5bn (£1.2bn).

Meanwhile, revenue from the UK and Ireland grew by 17 per cent to $928m (£723) from £789m (£614m).

These figures for Sky Bet follow hot on the heels of record revenue and profit posted by Tombola, another Flutter-owned company, for 2023.

The Sunderland-based firm reported a revenue of £201.6m for its latest financial year, along with a pre-tax profit of £50.7m.

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Original artice – https://business-live.co.uk/all-about/yorkshire-humber

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Flutter Entertainment’s Sky Bet sees profit drop amid rising salary costs and inflation

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Fertility rate in England and Wales drops to new record low

2 bus fare cap to increase to 3 in Budget Starmer announces

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