William Hill reports strong first-half results driven by online growth

WILLIAM HILL has reported strong growth in its online division in Ireland, but is still finding the retail market here challenging.

The British bookmaker yesterday reported a strong set of first-half group results which showed a 23% year-on-year increase in pre-tax profits to £126.9 million (€146.1m).

Net revenue for the six months to the end of June amounted to £567.8m; a 7% increase on the same period last year. Operating profit was up 9% to £147.7m and earnings per share grew by 34% to 12.3p.