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Paddy Power hit harder than 'John Cleese divorce'
Punter-friendly sports results in the first half proved costlier than the Monty Python comedian’s divorce to his third wife, the bookmaker quipped as profits dropped 20pc
Colourful bookmaker Paddy Power said the "public had a field day" in the first half of the year thanks to a slew of punter-friendly sports results.
The bookie, which is renowned for its cheeky advertising campaigns, likened the financial impact to John Cleese's costly £12m divorce settlement with his third wife, Alyce Faye Eichelberger, as half-year profits dropped 20pc to €61.6m (£49m) in the first six months of the year.
Paddy Power was hit €34m in the pocket from "adverse" sports results, particularly on two weekends, the first in January and the second in March, when 16 and then 17 out of the 21 most backed football teams won their matches.
Many results at this year's Epsom Derby and Royal Ascot also went the way of horse-racing fans.
Overall, favourites in the Premier League won 64pc of their matches in the first half of the year compared to an average of 53pc between 2010 and 2013. Favourites in UK and Irish horse-racing also won 37pc of their races compared to a three-year average of 35pc.
Paddy Power said the adverse sports results "proved costlier than John Cleese's divorce payments", referring to the Monty Python comedian's divorce in 2008 to Ms Eichelberger, an American psychotherapist. Following the divorce, Mr Cleese launched an "Alimony Tour".
However Paddy Power's head of retail, Andy McCue, said lady luck has since been on the side of the bookies and the majority of sports results so far in the second half had gone their way. Gross win – the amount a bookie wins before costs – was up by 45pc so far in the second half. “The luck can turn both ways quite quickly,” Mr McCue said.
Despite the 20pc drop in profits, Paddy Power raised the interim dividend by 11pc to 50 cent a share. Revenue during the first-half rose 4pc to €396.5m, helped by a successful World Cup in which total group stakes reached €198m, up 130pc on the previous tournament in 2010.