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(Reuters) - Britain's second-biggest bookmaker William Hill (WMH.L) said it had made an encouraging start to the year, boosted by strong online sales, and was confident of meeting its full-year forecasts.
William Hill, which has around 2,300 betting shops in Britain and Ireland, said in a trading statement for the 13 weeks to end-March that total sales were up 1 percent on last year, with pre-exceptional operating profit up 3 percent.
"I am satisfied with our performance this early in the year, with an improvement shown in overall retail turnover levels and good growth from William Hill Online in revenues, operating profit and new accounts," said Chief Executive Ralph Topping.
Net online revenue in the period was up 25 percent, with operating profit up 51 percent and new accounts up 31 percent.
William Hill said current trading in the four weeks to April 27 had been "generally good", and it was confident on the full year, albeit against a "challenging" economic climate.
In February, William Hill reported full-year results at the upper end of analyst forecasts, although profits were down on the year as a result of the recession and sporting results going against the company. [ID:nLDE61N2LH]
Shares in William Hill have risen 9.2 percent in the year to date, lagging 12.2 percent against the FTSE All Share Travel & Leisure Index. They closed at 202.9 pence on Wednesday valuing the business at 1.45 billion pounds.
(Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Matt Scuffham)
