SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Issuing a Q3 2015 trading update, William Hill has warned stakeholders and investors that its annual profits will be forecasted below market expectations.
The bookmaker detailed a rough Q3 trading performance, reporting a 39% dive in group operating profits.
Suffering the same fate as competitor Ladbrokes, William Hill maintained that sports wagering had been positive during the period, driven by strong football trading, however group performance had been negatively impacted by unfavourable UK racing results.
William Hill governance noted that the negative results, combined with higher UK tax charges on its operations, would have made it difficult to repeat its Q3 2014 performance, which was driven by high wagering activity recorded during the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
The operator estimates that it paid £23 million in combined tax duties during the quarter. The firm further detailed that it was unable to maintain 2014 Gross Win margins in its digital and retail divisions.
Further revenue/performance impacts saw William Hill trading effected by declines in its “non-core” digital markets of Spain and Portugal.
James Henderson Chief Executive of William Hill commented on Q3 performance
“The quarter was always going to be a tough quarter given last year’s World Cup and very strong gross win margin, allied to £23 million of additional gambling duties this year,” said Mr Henderson.
“Overall, I am pleased with the strategic progress we are making across the business, particularly around Project Trafalgar and the William Hill brand in Australia.
“Online’s core markets grew strongly again. UK amounts wagered was up 7% and gaming net revenue was up 15%. In local currency terms, Spain and Italy have also seen good double-digit growth in both sports turnover and gaming net revenue. The non-core markets’ weakness relates to factors including exchange rates, market closures and regulatory changes, which remain a feature of the evolving online market.
Henderson detailed that William Hill management were focused on building its in-house capabilities, which would help their operations and core products differentiate in a saturated betting market. Henderson pointed to the release of in-house developed platform Project Trafalgar
“Through Project Trafalgar we have launched a much improved mobile experience across all iOS devices, and we’re on track to complete our williamhill.com roll-out this year. This major technology project is supporting faster product innovation, a better mobile-led customer experience and much improved data to drive an ever more personalised customer service.
William Hill Q3 Performance Overview
