Australian gaming company Tabcorp is "preparing an advertising push" to coincide with the Australian Football League finals season after a "major blitz" during the World Cup attracted more than 32,000 new customers, Tabcorp CEO David Attenborough said, according to Nick Toscano of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. Tabcorp’s yearly results, released on Wednesday, "impressed investors after showing a return to profit" following the company's A$11B ($8.2B) merger with Tatts Group and "strong growth in its online betting business and online lotteries business." Digital betting turnover grew 16.3% to A$5B ($3.7B) -- the fastest rate in three years -- while the company's marketing efforts over the World Cup contributed to an 8% jump in the number of active account holders with its TAB and UBET betting brands to nearly 720,000. Tabcorp’s results, which sent its stock price "soaring" more than 7.5% on Wednesday, "defied predictions from some in the industry" that the "disruption" of the "mammoth task of integrating its business with Tatts risked hampering its performance." Attenborough would not reveal details of the upcoming advertising campaign, but said that it would "flow into the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival, the busiest period of betting on the Australian calendar" (SMH, 8/8).
DIM VIEW: In London, Cat Rutter Pooley reported Paddy Power Betfair said that its deal with U.S. fantasy sports site FanDuel, which was completed last month, "would weigh on its full-year earnings with losses from the new business combining with higher Australian taxes and weak horseracing revenues" to offset a better than expected performance in gaming and the World Cup. The bookmaker said that underlying earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization -- and before the impact of U.S. sports betting -- were now expected to be between £460M ($593M) and £480M ($619M), down from an estimated range of £470M ($606M) to £495M ($638M) at its first quarter results, weeks before the deal with FanDuel was announced. The news sent Paddy Power shares falling 4% in early London trading (FINANCIAL TIMES, 8/7).
