Home Money MARKET REPORT: Ladbrokes owner Entain shrugs off football woes

MARKET REPORT: Ladbrokes owner Entain shrugs off football woes

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Losing streak: Flutter last week marked a hit to profits after the highest rate of favorites winning NFL football games in nearly 20 years.

Shares in the owner of Ladbrokes and Coral rose yesterday as it sought to reassure investors that it has not been hit by the same type of losing streak as rival Flutter.

In an unscheduled update to the City, Entain said it expects full-year profits to be at the top of the £1.04 billion to £1.09 billion range it outlined in October.

The company said its latest guidance came “despite customer-friendly sports results” in the US, where its BetMGM alliance with MGM Resorts International operates.

While it did not mention Paddy Power or Betfair owner Flutter by name, the statement did clearly note “updated guidance from industry peers.”

Last week, Flutter flagged a hit to profits after the highest rate of favorites winning NFL football games in nearly 20 years.

Bookmakers tend to lose a lot when favorites win due to the large number of bettors betting on them.

Losing streak: Flutter last week marked a hit to profits after the highest rate of favorites winning NFL football games in nearly 20 years.

Entain shares fell 10 percent in the three days after the Flutter update amid fears about how it was doing.

But they rose 9 per cent in early trading yesterday before closing steady at 624.2p. However, the stock is still down more than 70 percent from its 2021 peak.

Shares in Flutter, which are listed in New York and London, rose 2 per cent, or 410 pence, to 20,880 pence yesterday.

Russ Mould, chief investment officer at broker AJ Bell, said: “Entain has dodged a bullet in terms of punters clearing NFL bets in recent months.”

The market had begun to worry that Entain would suffer the same fate as Flutter by going on a dramatic losing streak with US sports betting, causing the share price to be weak in recent sessions.

‘Entain may have scored the winning goal in recent months, but its share price has more than halved since 2021, meaning something drastic needs to be done to revive its fortunes and regain the favor of the market.

Today’s trading update is a good start, but the market will need more good news than a stroke of luck.

With the pound falling and gold yields rising once again, the FTSE 100 fell 0.3 per cent, or 24.3 points, to 8,224.19 and the FTSE 250 fell 0.1 per cent, or 15, 57 points, to 19,718.37.

Rising crude oil prices boosted oil stocks. BP gained 1.4 per cent, or 6.1 pence, to 431.2 pence and Shell rose 1.5 per cent, or 38 pence, to 2,663 pence.

But this did little for the airlines: IAG, which owns British Airways, was down 3.6 per cent, or 11.3p, to 304.6p, and Easyjet was down 2.7 per cent, or 13.6p. , up to 494.2 pence.

Engine maker Rolls-Royce was also caught up in the sell-off – down 2.2 per cent, or 12.6p, to 567.4p – even as analysts at Berenberg raised their target price on the share to 630. pence from 550 pence.

Shares in British biotechnology company Oxford Nanopore Technologies rose 8.9 per cent, or 11.7 pence, to 142.7 pence after it said revenue would have risen to £183 million in 2024 from £ £169.7 million in 2023.

Serco shares fell 1.5 per cent, or 2.2 pence, to 147.7 pence after the government subcontractor said boss Mark Irwin was retiring after 12 years at the company to be replaced by Anthony Kirby , who heads the group’s UK and European division.

Stock Watch – Plus500

Shares of online trading platform Plus500 hit an all-time high in early trading before giving up gains.

The stock rose as high as 2,750p after it said revenue would beat the city’s forecast.

The company, which offers stock, commodities and options trading services in more than 60 countries, said there was a spike in activity during the US elections.

The shares subsequently closed up 1.3 per cent, or 34p, at 2,670p.

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