William Hill Announces 200 Million Share Buyback: Revenues Fall 22 Percent
British bookmaker William Hill Plc (WMH.L) announced a 200 million pound ($279.5 million) share buyback while hiking its full-year dividend.
The company said it intended to pay about half of its adjusted earnings in dividends to shareholders going forward, from about 40 percent earlier.
William Hill said its operating profit for 2015 fell sharply by 22 percent to 291.4 million pounds, with the blame primarily placed on the UK’s increased taxes on gambling businesses.
The Australian arm of the brand performed well at the end of 2015, and that has continued into the new year, according to the annual statement.
Commenting on the results, William Hill chief executive James Henderson said: "In the last 12 months we have made substantial operational progress against our three strategic priorities of omni-channel, technology and international.
"As one of the largest scale businesses in gambling, the board is confident in the outlook for the year ahead and believes the group is well placed to deliver on its growth strategy."
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
