William Hill Profits Soar 26% In Q3

Britain’s biggest bookmaker with 2,300 betting shops, William Hill, has now released its financial results for Q3 ending September, revealing a 9% rise in net revenue with operating profits also up by an impressive 26%.
Unlike its rival Ladbrokes, William Hill seemed to suffer “no material effect” from this summer’s Olympics Games, although the number of people visiting its betting shops declined slightly. Nonetheless, good football betting, including the UEFA Euro 2012 helped to offset the company’s overall results.
Encouragingly, William Hill saw its online business grow solidly over Q3, with operating profit up by a huge 42% to £34.8 million. Nevertheless,  William Hill Poker produced  disappointing results and was down 24% overall, in contrast to a 14% rise recorded for Q3 2011. Further, William Hill announced some management changes to its online division with Andrew Lee now replacing Henry Birch as Chief Executive Officer of William Hill Online.
Commenting on William Hill’s latest financial figures, CEO Ralph Topping, said: “We saw strong Operating profit growth in the third quarter. Group net revenue remains well ahead of last year, with quarterly growth continuing broadly in line with that seen in the first half. Operating profit growth in the quarter further benefited from favourable timing on Online marketing costs.”
Meanwhile, William Hill has indicated it was considering exercising its option to buy-out Playtech’s 29% holding in William Hill Online. In addition, the company said that it would decide by November 13th whether it would also go ahead and make a formal offer to acquire Sportingbet as part of a £530 million deal.
Since the Q3 results were announced, shares in the company are currently trading down by 2.52% but are still near their 52 week high of 348.50, giving William Hill a market capitalization of £2.46 billion.
Looking ahead, CEO Ralph Topping commented: “The Board remains confident in its expectations for the full year and focused on the Group’s strategic opportunities to generate further value for shareholders.”