(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors) Irish bookmaker Paddy Power () is paying out – this time to shareholders - after recording record profits last year.
Higher takings online and on the high street saw profit before tax jump 21% to €167mln for the gambling firm last year.
Today it laid out plans to pay a €392mln special return to shareholders – or €8 per share - via a combination of cash and debt. It also upped its full-year dividend by 13%.
The payout to shareholders moves the company from a net cash position of €285mln to a net debt position of €211mln.
Known for its comical market updates the company said it had overcome a year in which sports results “had more ups and downs than Taylor Swift’s love life”.
Sales climbed 18% in the year to €882mln driven by growth in mobile which accounts for 55% of its online revenue and the continued expansion of its store estate.
Sports betting was hit by three weeks of football results “when practically every favourite in the main football leagues won” said the company although it enjoyed World Cup results.
Paddy Power now operates 565 shops in the UK and Ireland up 75 from the previous year.
"2014 was an excellent year for Paddy Power with robust double digit growth in stakes revenues and profits and a marked increase in customer acquisition” said Andy McCue chief executive.
Shares added 6p to 73p - a rise of 9%.
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