March 6 (Reuters) - Paddy Power Betfair PLC PPB.I :
* REVENUE +9% TO £1.9BN (+6% ON A PROFORMA BASIS)
* ONLINE REVENUE +5% - AUSTRALIA +6% - USA +18% ON A PROFORMA BASIS
* UNDERLYING EBITDA OF £475M PRE-US SPORTS BETTING INVESTMENT OF £24M
* UNDERLYING EBITDA TOWARDS UPPER END OF PREVIOUS GUIDANCE RANGE (£465M TO £480M); +5% YEAR-ON-YEAR ON PROFORMA BASIS
* £584M RETURNED TO SHAREHOLDERS VIA DIVIDENDS & SHARE BUYBACKS DURING 2018
* PROPOSED FULL YEAR DIVIDEND OF 200P, EQUATING TO A PAY-OUT RATIO OF 53% (2017: 50%)
* 2019 HAS STARTED IN LINE WITH OUR EXPECTATIONS, WITH GOOD MOMENTUM ACROSS OUR KEY DIVISIONS
* .OUR CURRENT EXPECTATION IS THAT THE NEW JERSEY SPORTSBOOK WILL GENERATE A POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION 18 TO 30 MONTHS POST-LAUNCH
* WILL BE SEEKING SHAREHOLDER APPROVAL AT OUR AGM IN MAY TO RENAME THE GROUP AS FLUTTER ENTERTAINMENT PLC.
* NEW CORPORATE NAME AIMS TO BETTER REFLECTS THE INCREASING DIVERSITY OF THE GROUP, WHICH CURRENTLY CONSIST OF SIX CONSUMER-FACING BRANDS (PADDY POWER, BETFAIR, SPORTSBET, FANDUEL, TVG, ADJARABET)