By Business & Finance 
Cormac McCarthy, chief financial officer and Patrick Kennedy, chief executive, Paddy Power
Paddy Power plc today announced interim results for the six months ended June 30th 2014.
The results show strong and accelerated growth with sportsbook stakes up 17%, online active customers up 25% and online customer acquisition up 35%.
Commenting on the results, Patrick Kennedy, chief executive, Paddy Power plc, said:“The punter friendly results in football and racing which impacted the gross win percentage in the initial six months of 2014, failed to put a halt to our gallop with strong underlying performance and accelerating top line momentum delivered in the period. For example,we acquired more new sportsbook customers on paddypower.com in these six months than in all of 2013. We had a cracking World Cup which generated stakes of almost €200m, 130% ahead of the previous tournament. Australia continues to power ahead and Italy has made significant progress.”
The results also showed net revenue growth of 7% and operating profit reduction of 14% to €60.1m, reflecting adverse sports results with a gross impact of €34m.
“The second half has started well with good stakes growth and a rebound in sports results,” Kennedy said. At this juncture, we expect mid-teen percentage growth in EPS for the full year, despite an €11m headwind from product fees, new taxes and currency translation.”
