TIDMWMH
RNS Number : 8070B
William Hill PLC
15 January 2018
William Hill PLC Trading Statement
Continued momentum delivers profits ahead of expectations
15 January 2018
William Hill PLC (LSE: WMH) (William Hill or the Group)
announces a trading statement for the unaudited 52 weeks ended 26
December 2017.
The Group's full-year adjusted operating profit(1) for 2017 is
expected to be cGBP290m, c11% up on 2016. This is ahead of
expectations, reflecting good momentum in both the UK and US
markets, stronger gross win margin and the benefits of the
transformation programme.
In the nine weeks since the trading statement on 20 November
2017, Retail and Online gross win margins were ahead of
expectations and significantly ahead of the same period in 2016,
due to favourable football and horseracing results. As a result,
wagering growth rates slowed but overall net revenue was very
strong. Gaming growth rates continued to accelerate in Online but
slowed in Retail. Internationally, the US continued to grow at
double-digit rates while Australia was affected by reduced credit
betting volumes.
Given the credit betting ban in Australia and the likely
introduction of a Point of Consumption tax in a number of states,
it is clear that profitability will increasingly come under
pressure and therefore we are undertaking a strategic review of our
Australia business.
Philip Bowcock, CEO, commented:
"We have delivered a strong result in 2017, reflecting our focus
on rejuvenating Online, growing the US and building an attractive
omni-channel proposition. At the same time, we are continuously
improving how we enable customers to gamble responsibly. We are
excited about the opportunities ahead in 2018 - a World Cup year -
with our competitive position reasserted in the UK and with the
potential for sports betting to open up in the US."
The 2017 final results will be announced on Friday, 23 February
2018.
OAM: Additional Regulated Information
William Hill LEI: 213800MDW41W5UZQIX82
Notes
(1) Adjusted operating profit is defined as profit before
interest and tax, excluding exceptional items and other defined
adjustments.
Enquiries
William Hill Philip Bowcock, CEO
PLC
Ruth Prior, CFO
Lyndsay Wright, Director of Strategy, Tel: +44 (0) 20 8918
Brand and IR 3614
Ciaran O'Brien, Group Communications Tel: +44 (0) 20 8918
Director 3732
Brunswick Andrew Porter / Chris Buscombe Tel: +44 (0) 20 7404
5959
About William Hill PLC
William Hill, The Home of Betting, is one of the world's leading
betting and gaming companies, employing around 16,000 people.
Founded in 1934, it is the one of the UK's largest bookmakers with
around 2,350 licensed betting offices that provide betting
opportunities on a wide range of sporting and non-sporting events,
gaming on machines and numbers-based products including lotteries.
The Group's Online business (www.williamhill.com) is one of the
world's leading online betting and gaming businesses, providing
customers with the opportunity to access William Hill's products
online, through their smartphone or tablet, by telephone and by
text services. William Hill US was established in June 2012 and
provides land-based and mobile sports betting services in Nevada,
and is the exclusive risk manager for the State of Delaware's
sports lottery. William Hill Australia is one of the largest online
betting businesses in Australia after the Group acquired
Sportingbet and tomwaterhouse.com in 2013. It offers sports betting
products online, by telephone and via mobile devices. William Hill
PLC is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements
This announcement includes statements that are, or may be deemed
to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking
statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking
terminology, including the terms "believes", "estimates",
"anticipates", "expects", "intends", "plans", "goal", "target",
"aim", "may", "will", "would", "could" or "should" or, in each
case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology.
These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not
historical facts. They may appear in a number of places throughout
this announcement and the information incorporated by reference
into this announcement and include statements regarding the
intentions, beliefs or current expectations of the directors,
William Hill or the Group concerning, amongst other things, the
results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects,
growth, strategies and dividend policy of William Hill and the
industry in which it operates. By their nature, forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to
events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the
future and may be beyond William Hill's ability to control or
predict. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance. The Group's actual results of operations, financial
condition, liquidity, dividend policy and the development of the
industry in which it operates may differ materially from the
impression created by the forward-looking statements contained in
this announcement and/or the information incorporated by reference
into this announcement. In addition, even if the results of
operations, financial condition, liquidity and dividend policy of
the Group and the development of the industry in which it operates,
are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in
this announcement and/or the information incorporated by reference
into this announcement, those results or developments may not be
indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods. Other
than in accordance with its legal or regulatory obligations
(including under the Market Abuse Regulation (596/2014), the
Listing Rules, the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules and
the Prospectus Rules), William Hill does not undertake any
obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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