William Hill Shows Improvement In Latest Fiscal Report

UK based betting firm William Hill plc has published its latest fiscal update, showcasing strong growth in net revenues due in no small part to online gambling and sports betting.

Key financial highlights for the period ending April 2nd, 2013 were:

• Group net revenue up by 15% and operating profit up 8% on the same period last year.

• Online made a major contribution, with net revenue up by 21% and operating profit up 13%.

• Retail net revenue grew by 8%, although operating profit was 3% lower.

• Sportsbook net revenue was up 47%.

• Mobile Sportsbook amounts wagered grew by a remarkable 145%.

• Mobile gaming net revenue grew by an outstanding 298%.

Operational highlights for the period were:

• Development of online and mobile business continues apace

• Online operations including Australia contributed 45% of operating profit in the period

• Sportsbook amounts wagered surpassed OTC amounts wagered in all 13 weeks of the quarter, averaging 110% of OTC betting levels in the period.

• Mobile amounts wagered beat the company's £15 million target, averaging £18.2 million a week

• Mobile accounted for 35% of Sportsbook amounts wagered in the period

Commenting on the results William Hill CEO Ralph Topping said, "It has been a successful start to 2013 in trading terms, moving forward with our strategy, expanding into Australia and taking full control of William Hill Online."

"It was pleasing to receive such clear support from shareholders for the William Hill Online acquisition and the rights issue. We also welcomed Sportingbet Australia into the William Hill Group in March and, having spent more time on the ground with the Aussie team, I am confident of its ability to take advantage of the opportunities in this key territory."

"Operationally, performance remains good, with strong gross win margins a feature of the period in both Retail and Online. We have two strong channels, with both responding well to opportunities and challenges."

“Cheltenham results were not as good for us this year but just after the quarter end, Auroras Encore made the Grand National a major success for William Hill, even beating our record win achieved on the race in 2009 when Mon Mome romped home at 100-1. Both of these big meetings proved to be significant attractions for mobile bettors."

"Our app was downloaded 45,000 times on Grand National day and 51,000 times during the Cheltenham Festival, putting us at the top of the downloads league for both events."

"Mobile remains a high priority and is now a major contributor to Sportsbook's continued growth. We have beaten two of our three Sportsbook and mobile targets ahead of schedule and are focusing on making mobile more than 40% of Sportsbook stakes before the end of this year."

"Having grown our UK online market share from 10% to 15% over the last four years, we aim to increase our share and are making significant investments in marketing, technology and people to achieve that."

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