William Hill today reported a 9% rise in total revenue for the unaudited 17-week period ending April 25. The rise in growth is in comparison to the same period in 2016, when results for the firm were poor following a very strong Cheltenham Festival for customers as well as unfavourable football results.
Online revenue was up 16%, aided in part by a better Cheltenham Festival this year for bookmakers, though football results were noted to be lower than expectations.
Retail outlets delivered the smallest growth of the four divisions, increasing 1% with the high street environment proving challenging as customers increasingly place their bets online.
There were sizable increases in the firm\’s international arms, with net revenue for William Hill Australia up 41%, while William Hill US increased by 19%
A second successive positive trading report will be welcome relief to for the firm (and green listed bookmaker), as they endured a turbulent 2016.Two profit warnings had to be issued following difficult results in racing and football, while chief executive James Henderson stood down in July.
Philip Bowcock replaced Henderson officially in March, having served as interim chief executive, and he said of Tuesday\’s trading update:
“It has been a positive start to the year for William Hill across the board. Our online business continues to deliver growth thanks to the improvements in product, user experience and marketing we have made.
“Our transformation programme is progressing well and we are on track to deliver £40m of annualised savings by the year-end. Overall, we are in line with market expectations for 2017 at this early stage in the year.”
Calculators
