Flutter Entertainment Plc (FLUT,FLTR.L), a prominent name in the sports and betting industry, has reported a larger pre-tax loss for the first quarter of the year. This elevated loss is a result of increased costs and expenses. Nevertheless, the company also marked a rise in its revenue.
During the same quarter, Flutter reported a pre-tax loss of $162 million, which was a higher figure than the loss of $152 million reported during the same period in the previous year.
The net loss was found to be $177 million, equivalent to $1.10 per share, which was higher than the previous year’s loss of $111 million or $0.58 per share. The severity of this loss represents non-cash expenses, including a much larger loss of $184 million relating to alterations in the fair value of the Fox Option liability due to an increased valuation of FanDuel from the previous year's loss of $64 million.
When taking other factors into account, the earnings per share dropped to $0.10 from a previous figure of $0.69 per share, predominantly due to the Fox Option charge of negative $1.04.
However, adjusted EBITDA increased to $514 million from last year's $352 million. Furthermore, the operating profit was $124 million, a stark contrast to the loss of $15 million experienced the year before.
Other expenses dramatically increased to $174 million from last year's $45 million. Similarly, interest expenses rose to $112 million from the $92 million reported in 2023.
General and administrative expenses escalated to $409 million compared to $342 million in the previous year, and technology, research, and development expenses rose to $190 million from $168 million recorded last year.
The cost of sales amounted to $1.793 billion, compared to the previous year's amount of $1.541 billion.
Despite these rising costs, the company reported a revenue increase to $3.397 billion from last year's $2.918 billion. This increase was supported by the continued growth of the company's U.S. business, that in itself witnessed a 32 percent increase in revenue. This success can also be attributed to the strong iGaming momentum in the UKI market and the addition of MaxBet in the first quarter, which contributed an extra $47 million or two percentage points to the company's total revenue growth.
As they move forward, the company continues to predict a full year U.S. revenue and adjusted EBITDA of $6 billion and $710 million respectively. This would mark a yearly growth of 36.3 percent and 206.1 percent accordingly.
Excluding the U.S. market, the Group forecasts a revenue and adjusted EBITDA of $7.85 billion and $1.73 billion respectively. These figures would indicate a yearly growth of 6.3 percent and 5.4 percent respectively in these domains.