Good News For William Hill Shareholders
Published: Friday, March 04, 2005 Online-Casinos.com
WILLIAM HILL GIVING IT BACK TO THE INVESTORS
Good news for Will Hill
shareholders.
Reuters reported this week that William Hill shareholders
are in line for a GBP 453 million payout through a return of capital, following
a 22 percent rise in annual earnings.
Earnings per share for 2004 rose
to 36.2 pence, the British gambling group reported. Pretax profit rose 21 percent
to GBP 205.3 million, towards the bottom end of market forecasts which ranged
from GBP 204 million to GBP 213.9 million. The total dividend rose 32 percent
to 16.5 pence.
"Returns of capital are flavour of the month in the
leisure sector and the news should be well received. However, the return of cash
also demonstrates that the stock has few growth opportunities to invest in,"
brokerage Seymour Pierce said in a research note.
The chairman at William
Hill said the Board had decided to return the GBP 453 million to shareholders
as it did not feel it could use the money on suitable acquisition opportunities
in the casino sector. The British government is planning to deregulate the gaming
industry to make it easier for new parties, including U.S. companies, to enter
the sector.
"The Gambling Bill now appears less likely to offer
opportunities for expansion of the UK casino industry, and synergies between casino
and betting operators, than were originally anticipated," said chairman Charles
Scott.
"Consequently, the board is not inclined to commit significant
capital to potential acquisitions outside of its core bookmaking and gaming businesses
at the current time," he added.
Existing shareholders will get an
extra 115 pence per share, either in the form of a dividend or in cash. The gambling
group said that its balance sheet had been further strengthened by securing new
bank facilities of GBP 1.2 billion.
Chief Executive David Harding said
that despite the cash return, the company could still buy more betting shop chains.
"Our first priority would be to buy more betting shops. I think
we could buy another 600," he told reporters.
William Hill shares
have outperformed the benchmark FTSE 100 index by about 10 percent over the last
year.
Related Links:
William
Hill Online Casino Review By Online-Casinos.com
William Hill Internet Poker Room Review By Online-Casinos.com
