Entain CFO and deputy CEO Rob Wood has said that while the sudden exit of former CEO Gavin Isaacs was a “shock”, the business remains on the path to growth following the release of its full-year 2024 earnings.
Speaking to EGR after the report’s publication yesterday, 6 March, Wood said the return of Stella David as interim chair of the FTSE 100 operator has been a “positive” decision.
David, who had stepped up to become chair a few weeks after Isaacs’ arrival in September, told analysts this week she would hold the CEO role for “as long as it takes”.
“The key thing is to make sure we have continuity in the business, and we’re building on the momentum that we currently have,” she said.
Expanding on Isaacs’ departure and the impact on the business, Wood added: “Sometimes things just don’t work out. We took the decision together with Gavin, that it’s better to call it early. Obviously, it’s not good, but better to call it early and move on.
“And that’s enabled us to fold back into where we were, having Stella put her hands up and say she’s happy to come in for as long as it takes, and as long as it makes sense.
“It’s been a real positive for the business. Stella is well regarded, both externally and internally, which is a really important point. So yes, a bit of a shock when first announced, but it’s been pretty seamless.”
The search for a new permanent CEO is underway. Isaacs was unveiled in July 2024, 222 days after Jette Nygaard-Andersen left the post in December 2023.
Nygaard-Andersen had been drafted in to fill the gap left by Shey Segev, who spent six months as the company’s boss before leaving in January 2021.
Segev was an internal appointment to replace long-standing CEO Kenny Alexander before being headhunted by sports streaming platform DAZN.
Aside from the CEO transition, Wood said that while Entain is hoping to take back market share in the UK, the priority remains to match the market’s growth rate.
Entain’s online UK and Ireland revenue jumped 21% in Q4, as the Ladbrokes and Coral parent experienced positive sports results and a return to growth.
In rival Flutter’s earnings report, also released this week, the New York-listed firm said it had taken four percentage points of UK market share in the past 24 months.
Wood said: “Objective number one was to get back growing in line with market. So, not taking share, but no longer losing share. We’ve had two or three years now where we have, in UK online, been losing share primarily as a result of the way that we’ve implemented things like affordability changes.
“So, 2024 was such a pivotal year for us to be able to reset all those approaches, simplify all the customer journeys, follow the newly agreed voluntary code – and you’re seeing the results of that now play through.
“As well as all the great work the team have done from a product and proposition perspective, things like the coin economies have been really popular for LadBucks and Coral Coins.
“Step one is get back growing in line with [the] market, and we’ll see where we go from there. But we’re not going to get over our skis just yet and put targets on market share gains. Just getting back in line with [the] market is a good start.”
Overall UK and Ireland net gaming revenue (NGR), including retail, was flat for full-year 2024. H1 revenue fell 6%, yet H2 climbed 7%.
Total NGR for the market was £2bn last year, with online NGR hitting £984.6m, up from 2023’s £964.2m.
In Q4 alone, UK and Ireland NGR rose 13%, but Wood was keen to stress that when unpicking comparatives and positive results, the run rate was closer to 9% heading into 2025.
Entain’s shares spiked following the release of the earnings to 777p, before losing those gains and more. Its shares are trading at 720p, at the time of writing.
The post Entain CFO says Gavin Isaacs exit was a “shock”, yet business remains on track first appeared on EGR Intel.
Rob Wood praises the return of Stella David as interim boss following Isaacs’ departure in February, as he delves into gains for the UK division
The post Entain CFO says Gavin Isaacs exit was a “shock”, yet business remains on track first appeared on EGR Intel.