LONDON, August 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

In a video interview on his first day as CEO of the business, James Henderson discusses William Hill's interim results.

A tough first quarter saw an unusual set of football results negatively impact the business, but this was partially mitigated by a strong World Cup performance that was boosted by the level of mobile betting that took place.

While profits were down in the Retail business, Henderson remains fully committed to the shops where 79% of customers still place their bets.

"It's still our most profitable division...in regards to setting up Online in the first place, I think it benefitted from the brand awareness within the UK.  And we're also now flipping that back to be able to benefit in Retail from the Online presence."  

Commenting on the regulatory environment, which continues to be challenging as new taxes are introduced, he says: "If you look at the sector, we already contribute £1bn worth of  taxes.  And these [new] taxes will increase that. So of course it becomes challenging."

Looking ahead he sets out his priorities as CEO:

"I've got is to make sure that we continue to leverage our multi-channel opportunity, to be able to continue to develop our technology in a way that will differentiate ourselves from other people.  In addition to that, it's about looking at what opportunities are available to us, from an international perspective."

In an accompanying interview Neil Cooper, Group FD, gives some additional detail on the impact of the World Cup and discusses the contribution of the international businesses and sets some areas that are being targeted for cost-cutting.

The interview and transcript are available now on http://video.merchantcantos.com/companies/w/william-hill.

MerchantCantos produces in-depth interviews, documentaries and webcasts with senior company executives. If you would like to contact us, please email prnsupport@merchantcantos.com or phone +44-(0)207-936-1352.