Ladbrokes takes €62m in winnings from Irish punters

IRISH PUNTERS bet more than €470 million with Ladbrokes last year, according to figures for the British operator’s main Irish subsidiary.

Accounts filed in the Companies’ Registration Office show that turnover at Ladbroke (Ireland) Ltd grew by just over €6 million in 2008 to €478.6 million.

The company’s accounts define turnover as all stakes, less void bets, accepted from punters in the Republic of Ireland.

The company won €62.3 million from its customers in the Republic last year, giving it a margin of 13 per cent, meaning that it won 13 cent of every €1 staked by customers in 2008.

Its winnings were slightly higher the previous year, at €63.5 million, from a €6 million lower turnover than in 2008. The directors’ report describes business during the year as “flat”.

The company’s costs increased by €8.5 million in 2008 to €51.5 million. Staff numbers grew by 143 and the company paid more than €3 million in extra wages.

The group had been expanding its business in the Republic and the North over the previous four years, through acquisitions and new shop openings.

In 2007 it bought Keenan Sports and Leisure, and Ace Racing. At the beginning of last year, it bought Barney Eastwood’s chain of betting shops in Belfast.

It ended 2008 with an operating profit of €10.7 million, a little more than 50 per cent of the €20.5 million surplus of 2007.

Profit on the sale of assets and interest payments left it with pre-tax profits of €11.6 million for the year, a 45.5 per cent fall on the €20.7 million in pre-tax profits it generated in 2007. After tax, it retained €9.3 million for the year, and the subsequent boost to reserves left with it shareholders’ funds – the value of its assets less the cost of its liabilities – of €55.4 million on its balance-sheet date, December 31st, 2008.

The accounts show it did not pay a dividend to shareholders either last year or in 2007.

Ladbrokes Ireland’s ultimate parent is Ladbrokes plc, which is based in Middlesex, England.

The company is one of the biggest players in the high street and in online betting in Ireland, along with local rivals Paddy Power and Boylesports.