Entain nets new CEO amid 41% Q4 online revenue rise

Entain has chosen non-executive director Jette Nygaard-Andersen to succeed Shay Segev as CEO with immediate effect. Segev officially steps down as a director today (21 January) but will remain available to the board and management until 8 July, before starting his new role as co-CEO of streaming service DAZN. As part of the reshuffle, Entain CFO Rob Wood will have the role of deputy CEO added to his position, while COO Sandeep Tiku will be appointed to the board later in the year. Wood will now be responsible for all retail operations and M&A activities under the dual role of CFO and deputy CEO. Wood is highly regarded by the City and is fancied to become permanent CEO one day. Nygaard-Andersen had been hotly tipped to fill Segev’s shoes after having served on the Entain board as an independent non-executive director since December 2019. The Dane boasts more than two decades of experience in leadership roles in media and digital businesses, most prominently during a nine-year spell with Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group.

Entain chairman Barry Gibson said: “We are extremely fortunate to have such an outstanding candidate and readymade CEO in Jette. “She is already deeply immersed in Entain’s strategy, and clearly shares our ambition to be the world-leader in sports betting and gaming entertainment. “Jette and I have been immensely impressed by Rob. He is extremely well regarded internally and externally, and the additional responsibilities will enable him to further develop his operational skills as well as overseeing a key tenet of our growth ambitions through M&A,” he added. Nygaard-Andersen commented: “I am very excited to have the opportunity of continuing the extraordinary momentum that Entain has in its existing markets, as well as helping it enter new regulated markets and reach new audiences. “I am delighted that Rob has agreed to take on broader responsibilities and that the importance of our proprietary technology is recognised through Sandeep’s appointment to the board. “I am deeply wedded to Entain’s commitment to providing industry-leading levels of player protection, and to its philosophy that the most sustainable business in our industry will be the most successful business in our industry,” she added. Entain also published its Q4 financial results today where online net gaming revenue (NGR) increased by 41% on a constant currency basis to mark the operator’s 20^th consecutive quarter of double-digit digital growth. Excluding Germany, the FTSE 100 firm reported a double-digit rise in all major markets with particularly strong performance in Australia, Italy Brazil, Georgia and the UK. This was driven by a 58% jump in online sports NGR driven by strong margins, while online gaming NGR also rose double digits by 27%. Retail revenue continued to plummet both in the UK (-38%) and across Europe (-59%) as betting shops remain closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Overall group NGR for Q4 grew by 7%, with that figure dropping to 1% for full-year 2020. Full-year online revenue increased by 28%, where online gaming (30%) outperformed online sports betting (26%) in the reverse trend of Q4. Full-year 2020 EBITDA is expected to be in the range of £825m-£845m. Segev said of the performance: “In an exceptionally challenging year, our strong performance has been driven by a business model that is highly diversified across a wide range of products, brands, territories and channels. “As ever, we remain deeply aware of our responsibility to provide our customers with the safest possible experience while using our products, and to that end our new technology-based Advanced Responsibility and Care programme is heralding a new era in player protection. “While the short-term outlook remains uncertain as a result of the ongoing impacts of Covid-19, we have entered 2021 with good momentum and remain as confident as ever in Entain’s longer term prospects,” he added. Regulus Partners analyst Paul Leyland described the handover and the reporting period as a “strong end and a new start”. He commented: “With a well-oiled operational machine covering nearly everywhere it is possible to conduct regulated gambling, the key test now will be delivering effective stakeholder management and contributing to industry leadership without taking the eye off the operational detail. “An ‘outsider’ with an unbiased and unjaded approach to this mission-critical job is a positive for Entain and the industry, in our view.”