Entain has posted a 7% year-on-year (YoY) jump in full-year 2024 net gaming revenue (NGR), excluding its US operations, to £5.2bn, with key markets returning to organic growth sooner than expected.
Group NGR without BetMGM’s contribution rose from £4.8bn last year, while underlying EBITDA was up 8% to £1.1bn.
Including the 50% of US-facing JV Entain holds, total revenue for 2024 was up 6% YoY, or 9% on a constant currency basis.
Entain’s shares are up around 3.7%, at the time of writing, to 770p.
Geographically, bosses said the UK and Ireland (UKI) had shown a turnaround performance in H2 to compensate for declines shown in H1, albeit with the market’s NGR remaining flat for the year.
Total NGR for UKI was £2bn for the year, the same as 2023, with sports betting NGR up 3% to £796.5m and gaming down 1% to £1.3bn.
Online operations saw total NGR up 2%, which management said showed the market returning to growth sooner than anticipated, given H1 online NGR was down 8% YoY.
Online NGR hit £984.6m, up from 2023’s £964.3m, with online sports NGR alone ticking up 6% to £262.3m.
Online UK actives also rose 11% YoY, with Entain noting that spend per user had also grown during Q4.
The FTSE 100 firm said the return to growth in online had come following the lapping of safer gambling measures it had put in place.
Entain also pointed to improved engagement with loyalty schemes, such as LadBucks, a new in-house bet builder launched in H2, as well as online casino marketing campaigns hitting home.
International inspection
Outside of the Ladbrokes and Coral parent’s UKI heartlands, international NGR was up 6% YoY to £2.6bn, with Brazil alone reporting a 41% leap in the metric on a constant currency basis.
Entain said actives in the market had grown with NGR and reflected the “end-to-end reinvigorated approach” the company had taken to Brazil.
Online international NGR also rose 6% to £2.3bn, with sports betting the main driver, up 9% to £1.2bn.
The second-largest growth market in Entain’s international portfolio was Georgia where it runs the Crystalbet brand, which had been slated for disposal last year before a U-turn.
Italy, Germany, New Zealand and Australia were all either flat or up in low single digits in terms of NGR growth for the reporting period.
The company also noted several impairment charges in its international markets, including £142.5m against its TAB operations in New Zealand.
Entain said: “[This] arose as a result of the outlook for the New Zealand business deteriorating versus the position 12 months ago. While this is in part due to the delay in the introduction of the legislative net (geo-blocking), forecast underlying growth has also reduced.”
Elsewhere, BetCity, Entain’s Netherlands-facing brand, has had a £113.1m impairment charge placed against it, and in Belgium there has been a £76.3m charge recognised.
Entain Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), which comprises STS in Poland and SuperSport in Croatia, reported a 62% YoY NGR leap to £488m, with the STS acquisition having occurred in H2 2023.
Despite STS’s market-leading position in Poland and benefit to the P&L, Entain has also placed a £75.9m impairment charge on the business due to increased competition in the market.
On full-year 2025 expectations, the operator said it forecasts online NGR to see mid-single digit growth, with adjusted EBITDA to be around £1.1bn.
The firm added: “The group has started the year strongly, with the momentum seen during 2024 continuing into 2025.
“Trading year to date reflects the benefit from operator-friendly sports margins, and volumes in line with our expectations. In the US, BetMGM’s accelerating performance has also continued into 2025, including record Super Bowl results.”
The year as started under the stewardship of interim CEO Stella David, as she stepped in to fill the space vacated by Gavin Isaacs after he left the business last month, having only joined in September.
David said: “2024 has been a year of transformation for Entain. I am delighted to see that our strategic and operational improvements are translating into strong performance; clear evidence that our strategy is delivering.
“I want to thank all my colleagues for their tremendous hard work and resilience.
“Entain has a high-quality portfolio of iconic brands with podium positions in attractive markets.
“Our return to organic growth is the beginning of our rebuild journey; our momentum continues, and we have started the year strongly. I am incredibly proud of our achievements so far and look forward to our opportunities ahead.”
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FTSE 100 giant says UK and Ireland has lapped safer gambling measures and Brazil showed green shoots, although 2025 revenue only expected to rise by mid-single digits
The post Entain cites return to growth across globe with 2024 revenue up 7% first appeared on EGR Intel.