* FY earnings up 11%, online jumps 50%
* CFO sees annual online growth to decline year-on-year
* Shares down 2% in morning trade
* Entain to expand into 20 U.S. states by 2021-end
(Adds CFO comments from call)
By Muvija M and Chris Peters
March 4 (Reuters) - Gambling company Entain did not
declare a dividend on Thursday as it took a cautious stance and
said the strong online growth that drove lockdown earnings could
ease as betting shops re-open.
"All of our shops are still shut. There is light at the end
of the tunnel for the pandemic, but we are still in the midst of
it and therefore we just felt it was prudent to not pay a
dividend," finance chief Rob Wood told Reuters.
The comments also come against the backdrop of an ongoing
regulatory review into gambling in Britain and after the company
snubbed a $11 billion takeover approach from its U.S. joint
venture partner MGM in January.
Entain shares, which scaled a record high of 14.94 pounds
earlier this year after the approach, were down 2% at 14.32
pounds by 0827 GMT.
While the pandemic led to the cancellation of sporting
events and shut its physical shops, the FTSE 100 company has
benefited from people stuck at home turning to their phones for
entertainment.
Entain's core earnings rose 11% to 843.1 million pounds
($1.17 billion) for 2020, with 803.5 million pounds of that from
a 50% online surge.
Smaller peer William Hill, which also operates
hundreds of UK betting shops and is being bought out by
U.S.-listed Caesars, posted a steep drop in profit on
Thursday.
AMERICAN ODDS
Days after Entain fended off MGM in January, the CEO of
Entain, formerly called 'GVC', left and the company named
industry veteran Jette Nygaard-Andersen to the role of chief
executive officer.
Nygaard-Andersen is set to oversee a period of regulatory
change as parts of the United States open up to sports betting
by overturning earlier bans.
BetMGM, Entain's JV with MGM, will expand into 20 U.S.
states from 12 before 2022 and turn a profit in 2023, Wood said.
Earlier this week, rival Flutter said the U.S.
market could grow to double the size previously estimated.
Wood, meanwhile, expects annual online growth to decline
year-on-year in 2021 as lockdowns ease, but was confident shops
that should reopen next month have a future.
"People forget sometimes that our retail is bit more than
the conventional thing. It is a social thing," he said.
($1 = 0.7165 pounds)
(Reporting by Muvija M and Chris Peters in Bengaluru; editing
by Barbara Lewis)
