Paddy Power Releases Report Update

Update covers period from July to mid-November A trading update by online and land gambling group Paddy Power covering the period between 1 July and 15 November 2010, showed positive results and also revealed its plans to rectuit more staff, which attracted media attention. The report contains the following figures, which indicate that the company will meet expectations: Comparative analysis of the period with the same period in 2009, expressed in constant currency by division: Ex Australia - Online * Sportsbook amounts staked +34 percent * Gaming/B2B gross win +33 percent Australia (Australian growth including IAS from the anniversary of its acquisition on 1 October only) * Amounts staked: +6 percent in total * Amounts staked: +22 percent online * Gross win: +70 percent online UK Retail * Amounts staked over-the-counter - like-for-like +1 percent * Net revenue of total gross win - like-for-like +17 percent * New shop openings YTD: +28 Irish Retail * Amounts staked - overall down 5 percent * Amounts staked - like-for-like, 8 percent drop * Gross win - like-for-like +9 percent Telephone (ex Australia) * Amounts staked 0 percent Financial Standing Ending with 31 October 2010, the Group's net cash amounted to Euro 137 million, i.e. or Euro 94 million excluding customer balances. The Group CEO Patrick Kennedy explained: "The strong growth in Group profitability in the first six months has continued into the second half, with a particularly strong performance in our international online businesses and UK Retail activities. We are also continuing to invest in our scale and capabilities to position the Group well for 2011 and beyond in its existing and potential future markets. In this context, we are also today announcing the creation of 1,440 new jobs in Ireland, the UK and Australia, to be in place by December 2013.” The Irish press, on the other hand, dedicated special attention to the Group's announcement about new staff recruitment. Namely, according to The Irish Times, Paddy Power intends to open 500 vacancies in its Irish business over the next three years, in order to provide support for its international online betting business. According to the plans, 375 people are to work at its headquarters in Tallaght, Dublin, mainly in risk management, technology, on-line marketing and other positions related to its internet business, whereas the other 125 jobs will be located in its bookmaker shops around the State. Apart from these, its plans also include retail business expansion in Ireland, in which the staff numbers should reach 2,200 by the end of 2013. In addition, another 810 people are being recruited for Paddy Power's betting shops in the UK, where it has 121 outlets and expects to expand this to 250 at the end of 2013. By that time, it is believed that the company's UK retail business will have overtaken the Republic's. In regards to Australia, Paddy Power is a major stakeholder in Sportsbet, the country's biggest corporate online operator, for which it needs another 140 employees in order to facilitate the expansion of this business. Patrick Kennedy specified that the global gaming business worth amounted to Euro 335 billion but with only around seven percent of those coming from online business, more expansion is to be conducted in this sector. He added that Paddy Power has to position itself to exploit that.