Online results aid William Hill annual growth

30Jan 2013

William Hill

British online and land-based gaming firm William Hill has issued a trading update regarding its full-year financial performance revealing that it expects total net revenues for the 53-week period to be twelve percent higher year-on-year.

London-based William Hill is due to release its official fourth-quarter and full-year results on March 1 and anticipates reporting that its overall operating profit for the twelve months to the end of December had risen 20 percent when compared with the same period in 2011.

William Hill stated that its 2012 performance had been ‘strong’ with operating profit expected to be approximately £330 million helped in part by a 27 percent year- on-year boost in online net revenues alongside a six percent rise in retail earnings.

The operator disclosed that online sportsbook net revenues for 2012 are expected to be up by 50 percent year-on-year due to a 36 percent boost in amounts wagered and a gross win margin that improved almost one percent over 2011 to 7.9 percent. In addition, it anticipates reporting a 14 percent improvement in gaming net revenues due to ‘good performance’ from its Playtech Casino and Vegas Casino brands.

William Hill launched an iPad sportsbook app in December and said that initiatives such as these will see it report that mobile sportsbook turnover for the whole of 2012 had grown 260 percent year-on-year and should account for ‘around one-third of all sportsbook turnover’ for the final month of the year.

“Online achieved a record weekly mobile turnover of almost £20 million in the final week of the year [and benefitted] from a strong football programme,” read a statement from William Hill.

Online operating profit for the year is expected to be up by approximately 36 percent year-on-year to around £145 million, William Hill divulged, while the non- controlling interest held by software developer Playtech Limited is due to amount to £12.3 million for the final quarter of 2012 and £41.2 million for the entire year.

“[The fourth quarter] delivered a strong end to an already good year in 2012,” said Ralph Topping, Chief Executive Officer for William Hill.

“Performance was robust in retail and profits continued to grow strongly in online with sporting results going in our favour in both channels.

“It was a pleasing end to an important year for William Hill, a year in which we have made substantial strategic progress. With both the acquisition of Sportingbet’s online business in Australia and the current Playtech call option process expected to conclude during early 2013, the group continues to enhance its already strong platform for the continued development of the business.”