10th Jan 2005 07:00
William Hill PLC10 January 2005 10 January 2005 WILLIAM HILL PLC CLOSE PERIOD TRADING STATEMENT William Hill (the 'Group') expects to announce profits before interest andtaxation in the region of £232m for the 52 weeks ended 28 December 2004 (52weeks ended 30 December 2003: £201.7m). The Group expects basic earnings per share for the 52 weeks ended 28 December2004 to be in the region of 36 pence which represents a 20% increase over thecomparative period. Performance in the first half of 2004 benefited from favourable results for UKhorseracing and football including the Euro 2004 football championship. In contrast, performance in the second half of 2004 has been adversely affectedby less favourable horseracing results and significantly poorer results inrespect of domestic and international football since the start of the currentseason. This trend, which is consistent with normal variations in sportingresults, continued to prevail in the closing weeks of the year. The growth of random number generated events as a proportion of overall bettingopportunities has increased the Group's revenue resilience in periods of lessgood sporting results. Roughly a third of the Group's gross win is now derivedfrom 5,500 fixed odds betting terminals in the retail estate, online casino,poker and arcade sites, and virtual and traditional numbers products. The Group is in good shape operationally with costs firmly under control, majorinvestment programmes in electronic point of sale and replacement text systemson track, and a number of business development initiatives planned for 2005. Preliminary results for the 52 weeks ended 28 December 2004 will be released on2 March 2005. Enquiries: David Harding, Chief Executive 020 8918 3910 Tom Singer, Group Finance Director 020 8918 3910 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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