William Hill exceeds expectations

Bookmaking firm William Hill has exceeded expectations with a 27% increase in underlying profits to £101.9m (€145.6m).

World Cup betting and favourable horse racing results saw it convert a 2002 interim pre-tax loss of £12.2m (€17.4m) into a profit of £85.6m (€122.3m).

Part of the profit rise was credited to a 72% increase in turnover while gross win margins increased by 18%.

The betting group also stated that they had made a solid start to second-half trading.

The company, which is trying to reduce its reliance on horse racing, said the rise in takings was helped by the introduction of a series of new betting opportunities.

These included virtual greyhound racing and the increased roll-out of fixed odds betting terminals (FOBT).

FOBTs allow customers to place bets on the outcome of spins of virtual roulette wheels, but they have run into trouble with the Gaming Board over the machines, who argue that some of the products are too similar to those in casinos.

Hills are due to face a Gaming Board hearing in October but it will be 2004 before the outcome is known.

The firm's interactive and telephone divisions also performed strongly.