Entain Sees Online Growth Sustain FY2021 Results, Retail Returns in 2022

Entain Plc has been looking at a strong 2021 for a while now, but the final results are in and the brand whose digital transformation has been presided over by chief executive Jette Nygaard-Andersen has tapped into a resilient and unshakable source of strong financial performance.

The company took a hit in its retail results consistently, but a growing focus on digital operations was able to more than pay off for any potential losses incurred in the physical segment. The full-year results for 2021 sit at £3.88 billion ($5.19 billion) worth of net revenues.

Entain Sees Double-Digit Growth Continue

Double-digit growth for the online segment continued with a strong uptick of 12% to £3.06 billion ($4.10 billion), and the company’s sportsbook operation posted another 21% increase to £1.44 billion (1.93 billion). Entain has not backed down even from saturated markets that take more resources to break into and make a mark on.

Both Italy and the United Kingdom saw sportsbook growth of 30% and 10% respectively. Entain has also been able to see significant results across the board for its Enlabs and Bet.pt operators even though both companies operate in some of the strictest gaming markets.

The EBITDA for the company’s online division reached £899 million ($1.2 billion), up 12% year-over-year. According to Nygaard-Andersen, Entain is a business that operates with a growth model at its core. The chief executive continued:

“Our strong performance is underpinned by the Entain platform which encompasses the compelling combination of our proprietary technology, our outstanding people around the world, and our industry-leading operational capabilities.”

Entain CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen

She noted that the online sector and its growth have been instrumental in helping to tackle any negative impact the European retail sector had on its results, with the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Italy all applying serious restrictions on operational capacity.

Retail Will Begin to Recover in 2022

Despite those adverse effects, Entain’s Ladbrokes and Coral brands have decided to pay back £44 million ($58.90 million) to the UK government given to the companies for COVID-19 relief. Entain assessed that it had been able to guarantee the jobs of every staff member by pulling its own resources and therefore had no need to use the public funds which were better spent elsewhere.

Group profit after tax reached £275 million ($368 million), up 142% year-over-year. Nygaard-Andersen said that the retail segment is also picking up with the results heading for pre-COVID levels, Entain is expecting even better 2022, once again bolstered by the online sector. It’s all about long-term prospects, Nygaard-Andersen explained.