Punter power sees Paddy's figures drop

The firm said it "took a proper pounding" in the racing at Cheltenham in 2009, while Six Nations rugby did not go its way and football saw a dearth of draws.

Consequently Paddy's gross win – the amount left by losing punters – was lower than expected, down by an estimated 29 million euros (26.3m) on sporting results after a strong 2008.

Pre-tax profits for the year to December 31 were 67.2 million euros (60.8m) from 79 million euros (71.5m) in 2008.

Last year's profits fall came despite a 31 per cent rise in the amount staked by customers to 2.72 billion euros (2.49bn).

The Dublin-based firm said while the results had shaved profits, this was a fact of life for bookmakers and said trading in 2010 so far has been "satisfac-tory" as more favourable sports outcomes offset racing cancellations in snow-hit January.

Chief executive Patrick Kennedy said: "Despite the economic problems, 2009 was a cracking year for Paddy Power punters on two fronts.

"The year saw a slew of punter-friendly sporting results which was the exact opposite to the experience of the prior year."

He said the firm had invested in offers and concessions to attract extra custom, while also expanding the business with acquisitions in Australia and a further 25 new shops in the UK.

The firm now has 93 outlets in the UK and teams in Glasgow and Manchester aimed at boosting the firm's high street presence further outside London.

Paddy said it intends to have at least 150 shops in the UK by 2011 "and don't intend to stop there".

In Australia the firm snapped up Sportsbet and IAS in the year to move into the online market.

It is hoping to capitalise on a substantial regulated betting market and a "high gambling spend per capita".

The firm said the potential growth of online betting still had a long way to go with the roll out of 'super-fast' broadband in the UK and elsewhere over the next few years.

Paddy said sporting results had started to turn in its favour towards the end of 2009, but not before a run of punter-biased results.

"We did okay in the early shadow boxing at the start of the year, but it's Cheltenham when the punters really get their gloves off and this year we took a proper pounding," Paddy said.

This was followed by the Six Nations where the favourites won every match except France's narrow win over Wales, but this was the one game when punters had backed the underdog.

Football was another losing area for the firm amid the success of England's big four at the beginning of the year and the firm said the summer saw the situation deteriorate further.

A lack of Premier League draws – just four in the first 66 matches – proved a headache.