PAP.L Share News (PAP)

Irish bookie Paddy Power has announced a 21% jump in revenues in the year to date, driven by a surge in online gaming.The firm said it had seen a 33% rise in online revenues and 7% growth in retail revenues.Total amounts staked in its UK and Irish online business were up 46%, while amounts staked via mobile phones were up 298%.The firm said 34% of active customers had placed a bet on their mobile phone.As of 15th May the company's net cash excluding customer balances stood at €66m.Paddy Power noted UK retail achieved strong growth in like-for-like revenues and the pace of new openings has accelerated. Irish retail was impacted by poor sporting results but remained well positioned to grow market share, the company said.It also said growth in Australia had slowed compared to last year, although the firm expected more growth later in the year. Nigel Northridge, chairman of Paddy Power, noted the second half of 2010 benefitted from the football World Cup, as well as very favourable sports results. "However, the strong underlying momentum in the group should help to offset these factors, and consequently the board looks forward to the balance of 2011 and beyond with confidence," he said.In March the firm accompanied record results in all divisions across 2010 with a 28% dividend hike.----mm