21st Nov 2019 09:18
(Alliance News) - William Hill PLC on Thursday said performance has met expectations as revenue from retail stores continues to fall.
The bookmaker posted a 1% rise in net revenue for the period between July 3 and October 29, with online revenue rising 26% but retail falling 23%.
Gaming net revenue from retail stores slumped 45%, and sportsbook wagering amounts fell 1%. Gaming revenue online was up 51%, but sportsbook wager amounts fell 7%.
"Gaming trends are improving incrementally as customer behaviour adjusts following the implementation of the GBP2 maximum staking limit," said William Hill.
In April this year, the stake limit on in-store fixed-odds betting terminals was slashed by the UK government to GBP2 from GBP100, leading to bookmakers warning on a steep fall in revenue. This prompted William Hill in July to announce 700 store closures.
Earlier in November, a cross-party group of members of Parliament recommended similar stricter controls on online betting, including introducing maximum stake and deposit limits.
William Hill now has around 1,600 bricks and mortar stores, and it said though it is too early to say, underlying results are consistent with existing guidance.
Elsewhere, in the US the company reported "strong" net revenue growth of 60%. New operations have opened in several US states as they legalise online sports gambling, while the existing Nevada business remains solid.
Some 13 of the 50 US states now accept sports betting, William Hill said, and during the 17-week period it went online in Indiana and Iowa and now operates in 10 states.
William Hill's Chief Executive Ulrik Bengtsson said: "During my first months as CEO I have been focused on how we can improve our competitiveness whilst ensuring we continue to deliver on our strategic ambitions and I am pleased to confirm we remain on track to meet our full year expectations.
"In the US our business has gone from strength to strength. We have excellent market access, a valuable partnership with Eldorado and we are excited about the potential that is presented by the combination with Caesars."
"We have remodelled the UK retail estate, while the UK online business has benefited from a series of customer facing improvements evidenced in the stabilising market share in the last two quarters. In addition, we expect our international online business to benefit from a number of important product improvements that will be delivered over the coming quarters," Bengtsson continued.
Shares were 0.4% higher on Thursday at a price of 179.80 pence each.
By George Collard; [email protected]
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