William Hill hails strategic progress in first half

William Hill said it was able to record “good progress” against its main strategic priorities during the first half of 2017.

In a trading update, William Hill reported that net revenue in the six months to June 30 amounted to £837m (€943.9m/$1.11bn), up 3% on the £814.4m posted in the corresponding period last year.

Adjusted operating profit fell 1% year-on-year to £129.5m, while profit before interest and tax also declined by 11% to £109m.

The bookmaker also reported a 7% year-on-year drop in profit before tax, which came in at £93.5m, although adjusted profit before tax was up 2% to £111.2m.

Earnings per share (basic, adjusted) for the six-month period increased by 7% to 11.2p, with dividend per share also up 4% to 4.26p.

Philip Bowcock, chief executive of William Hill, said: “The first half of 2017 has seen good progress against our three strategic priorities and wagering growth across all four divisions.

“Our product improvements combined with improved marketing have seen both existing customers respond positively and the number of new customers start growing again during the period.

“As a result we are seeing good momentum building in online's performance.

“In retail we made market share gains, with growth in both sports betting, despite the lack of a major international football tournament, and gaming revenues.

“Internationally, our US business continues to perform well and in Australia, with the upcoming Spring Carnival key to the full-year results, we are competing hard and diversifying our product range.”

Bowcock added: “Earlier in the year we targeted £40m of annualised savings as part of our transformation programme and we are on track to deliver this by the year-end.

“In addition to these savings, the programme has sparked initiatives to further improve our products and customer experience, accelerate our top-line growth and increase efficiency.

“We are confident about delivering a good outturn in 2017 and beyond.”

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