Sport bets boost William Hill

William Hill today said new gaming machines and demand for bets during sporting events helped it deliver a sharp rise in profits today.

The bookmaker, which employs 16,000 people and has 2,350 betting offices, reported “outstanding growth” from online operations and said its retail division made a positive contribution despite consumer uncertainty.

Operating profits rose 7% to £276.8m (€322.8m) in the year to December 28 after revenues lifted 7% to £1.07bn (€1.24bn). Including one-off items, pre-tax profits jumped 60% to £193.3m (€225.4m).

In its second year of operation, William Hill Online saw revenues leap 24% to £251.5m (€293.2m) after it benefited from strong growth in sports betting, with amounts wagered up 57% year-on-year. This included a 114% rise from in-play betting after William Hill ramped up its offering with the support of adverts during televised fixtures.

Amounts wagered in betting shops grew 8% year-on-year after the roll-out of new gaming machines helped offset a 3% drop in over-the-counter stakes.

Favourable football results, particularly in the second half of the year, resulted in a gross win margin for the firm of 17.9%, at the top end of its normal trading range.

Operating profits from the company's retail estate increased 1% to £204.5m (€238.5m), while online profits rose 22% to £91.1m (€106.2m).

The company said the strong trading performance continued into the new financial year, with the amounts wagered in the retail business up 12% and the online division still trading strongly.

Analyst Paul Leyland of Investec Securities said he planned to leave his profit forecast unchanged due to current economic uncertainty and higher VAT, as well as the absence of a major football tournament this year.

However, he added: “We believe that operational momentum is continuing, while the underlying business should continue to prove resilient in a difficult consumer environment.”