William Hill profit warning dulls US market expansion optimism

UK bookmaker William Hill saw its shares tumble on Tuesday after a trading update that warned of lower full-year profits.

Hills’ unaudited report for the 17 weeks to October 23 show group revenue falling 4%, with declines at both the online (-5%) and retail (-4%) levels. The William Hill US operations reported revenue up 6% thanks to the launch of legal sports betting outside Nevada immediately prior to the reporting period.

The figures were slightly more bullish on the year-to-date front, with group revenue flat, thanks to online (+4%) and retail (-4%) essentially cancelling each other out, while the still relatively minor US operations shot up 29% in the 43 weeks ending October 23.

Hills blamed much of its betting woes on a string of customer-friendly results pushing down margins, but year-to-date betting handle was down 3% online and a worrisome 8% at the retail level, despite the expected boost from this summer’s 2018 FIFA World Cup. Online betting handle was up 2% in the H2-to-date column, while retail wagers were down 4%.