Entain, the owner of Ladbrokes, has reported a pretax loss of £448.1 million ($569.8 million) for the first half of the year. This is in contrast to a pretax profit of £39.5 million in the same period last year. The loss can be attributed to the company setting aside £585 million ($743.9 million) for a potential settlement regarding the U.K.’s bribery probe into its former Turkish-facing business.
The investigation by the U.K.’s HM Revenue and Customs focuses on the business that Entain operated from 2011 until its sale in 2017.
Despite the loss, the company has reported a 19% growth in total group net gaming revenue for the six months ending June 30. Net gaming revenue reached £2.40 billion, surpassing consensus estimates of £2.34 billion. This growth was driven by strong performance and strategic acquisitions, which helped offset regulatory challenges.
Entain’s underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) stood at £449.4 million, down from £471.0 million.
Looking ahead to 2023, Entain anticipates its group EBITDA to range between £1.00 billion and £1.05 billion, excluding the impact of its projected acquisition of TAB NZ.
Furthermore, the company has announced an interim dividend of 8.9 pence per share, representing an increase from 8.5 pence in the previous year.
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