William Hill Online Gambling Profits Up

Published: Thursday, March 02, 2006 Online-Casinos.com

WILLIAM HILL ONLINE GAMBLING PROFITS UP

Online gambling profits are up - but it's been a tough year for bookies

UK betting shop & online gambling group William Hill published its 2005 results this week, showing a 5 percent rise in annual profit mainly due to the performance of online poker operations and fixed odds betting terminals bolstering less attractive sports betting returns.

A William Hill company spokesmen said that sports results favoured the gamblers rather than the bookmakers in 2005, while horse-racing margins suffered continuing pressure.

"This adverse trend was largely offset by particularly strong performances in the Fixed Odds Betting Terminals and online poker businesses," said Chief Executive David Harding.

He dismissed rumours that the gambling group was considering a tie-up with leisure conglomerate Rank Plc. "There are no talks ongoing at the moment with anybody," he said.

Profit on ordinary activities before exceptional items and finance charges was GBP 246 million in 2005, up 5 percent from last year.

The Stanley betting shop chain bought by William Hill last year contributed GBP 16 million, although continuing operations saw a modest decline. Annual synergies from the deal will exceed its earlier estimate of GBP 13 million and could reach over GBP 20 million in the medium term.

Small share price movements valued the group at around GBP 2.2 billion this week, and investors will be pleased to learn that the stock has still risen by around 9 percent this year.

Winnings from over-the-counter betting, excluding the contribution from the new Stanley shops, fell 7 percent, but this was offset by a 33.5 percent increase in winnings from electronic gaming machines in the shops.