Paddy Power is expected to return €800 million surplus cash

Irish betting operator Paddy Power is expected to return over €800m surplus cash to shareholders in the coming years, according to Davy Stockbrokers.

The company announced its plan to return €392m in cash to shareholders during its posting of record profits in 2014 earlier this month. Paddy says it hasn’t identified any attractive acquisition and investment opportunities or other uses for surplus cash.

The capital return plan is set for the shareholders’ vote during the company’s annual general meeting on May 14. Paddy’s management said that it is “very confident” that the move will not compromise its future growth.

Davy officially upgraded Paddy Power from “neutral” to “outperform” status on March 30 and said that the company has scope for “material consensus earnings upgrades over time through a combination of better-than-expected top-line growth and scope to expand profit margins.”