Bookie’s winning streak gives punters the blues
If YOU like a flutter, you’re unlikely to feel sorry for Paddy
Power Betfair when it tells you why it’s losing business: it keeps winning.
The Irish firm said a number of bookmaker-friendly results had ‘significantly affected customer activity, including the recycling of customer winnings’.
A fiercely competitive market in the UK has also seen Paddy Power lose ground on rivals, with market share falling from 15pc in 2014 to 12pc last year.
To woo customers back, it has announced a £20m marketing war chest, despite group revenues rising by a healthy 13pc last year.
It said: ‘Marketing spend in the UK sports betting market has increased by an estimated 19pc per annum in the last few years and this has led to Paddy Power having a lower share of voice.’
While the announcement made shareholders nervous, analysts were more upbeat. Russ Mould, of stockbroker AJ Bell, said: ‘Spending more on keeping your business relevant has to be a good move if the money is spent well.
‘Paddy Power has a very good track record of being innovative with its marketing and branding, so its rivals may actually be shivering in their boots.’ Shares fell 3.4pc, or 280p, to 7940p.
Meanwhile, Ladbrokes warns day one of the horse racing at next week’s Cheltenham festival could be the ‘costliest in history’.
It is bracing itself for a ‘ monstrous payout’ as punters throw money down on a four-way accumulator of favourites Getabird, footpad, Buveur D’Air and Apple’s Jade. Nicola McGeady, of Ladbrokes, said: ‘We’ve had our fair share of disastrous Tuesdays at the festival and this year could be the biggest one yet.’ Despite the warning, Ladbrokes ticked up 1.7pc, or 2.7p, to 164.25p.
In stark contrast to a racehorse, the FTSE 100 trundled up 0.16pc, or 11.09 points, to 7157.84.
Sticking with the fTSE 100, box maker Smurfit Kappa was still wailing about what it regards as a cheeky bid from Memphis-based International Paper Company.
Shares in Europe’s largest cardboard box maker soared on Tuesday after it received an approach from its US rival. At the time Smurfit dismissed the ‘unsolicited and highly opportunistic’ offer.
In a fresh, strongly- worded statement yesterday, it urged shareholders not to push for the deal to go ahead. Smurfit’s shares shot up 5.8pc, or 176p, to 3218p.
Weakness in the UK jobs market sent shares in recruitment firm
PageGroup tumbling 2.5pc, or 13p, to 510.5p. It revealed strong results for the year ending December 31: pre-tax profit rose 18.2pc while revenue was up 14.7pc.
But in the UK, its largest market, profits shrank, as did its jobs conversion rates. Steve Ingham, its chief executive, warned of more of the same this year. Shares in waste recycling group
Biffa sank after a warning over the impact of recycling rules changes in China. Regulators now enforce strict quality restrictions on imports, including types of cardboard, mixed paper and an outright ban on plastics.
Biffa said: ‘In the near term we expect these headwinds to persist, impacting divisional performance’ in its resource recovery and treatment business. Its shares fell 10.7pc or 26.5p to 221p.
Shares in Aim-listed fertiliser producer Harvest Minerals blossomed after it revealed a £1.5m deal with one of Brazil’s leading garden supply firms to provide 36 kilotons of natural fertiliser.
Brian McMaster, Harvest’s chairman, said: ‘This is truly fantastic news and proves we have a commercial product that is in demand in one of Brazil’s premier agricultural belts.’ Its shares flew up 10.5pc, or 1.85p, to 19.48p.