Written by :
Published on :
The United Kingdom’s second largest bookmaker, William Hill, reported a rise of 22% operating profit during the 3rd quarter of 2010. Company officials predicted that operating profit on the year should exceed analysts expectations.
Much of the gains can be attributed to the 2010 World Cup where online betting volume rose 287% over the previous year. The company took in 23 million pounds (or US$36 million) of revenue during the 3rd quarter from the World Cup alone.
“The group performed strongly in the quarter, even taking into account the weak prior year comparatives,” Chief Executive Officer Ralph Topping said in the statement. “While a number of macro-economic factors leave us cautious in our expectations for 2011, the group is very well placed through the final quarter of 2010.”
William Hill has managed to outperform the UK’s largest bookmaker Ladbrokes in every segment, according to Investec analyst Paul Leyland, who upgraded his 2010 expectations for Will Hill per share by 5.5% to 19.3 pence.
“We are encouraged that William Hill has clearly beaten Ladbrokes (LAD.L) on every line and continues to deliver strong growth in machines,” he said.
Leyland did acknowledge that he would not be changing the 2011 estimated forecasts for now since much of the rise was attributed to an event – the World Cup – that will not take place this coming year.
Just last week, Ladbrokes also reported strong 3rd quarter earnings for 2010.
That company reported operating profits of £51.1million over this period and says it is on target to meet the year’s goals. The numbers are up dramatically from last year’s £22.4million. – Aaron Goldstein reporting for Gambling911.com
