William Hill PLC is a betting firm that is based in the UK. They operate over 2300 betting shops in the UK and Ireland. They stated on Thursday, that their first quarter earnings had risen and they are going in the right direction to get their objectives met this year. Online operations and betting machines have boosted their revenue, so has the online sportbook and casino. They also stated that for the first quarter that ended March 30, the operating profit prior to exceptional items had risen 3% year-on-year and there was a 1% increase in net revenue.
Chief Executive Officer, Ralph Topping, stated he was satisfied with the early year performance, and although market conditions continue to be challenging, he believes they are on the right track to meet their objectives for the year. He also stated they are watching costs and are making investments to their international online business. He said that the group is adding an additional 30 stores in 2010, and are looking at the market for future acquisitions.
Because of the over-the-counter win margins that were quite higher than usual, profit fell 13% at the retail division. The gaming machines helped the gross window taking betting rise 3%.
The group said operating profit had a rise of 51% for online operations, a 31% increase in new accounts and there was a rise of 15% for unique active players. The gross win margin for the Sportsbook rose from 6.6% to 8.1% and the profit for gaming operating had a rise of 51%.
Most of the company’s revenue is from the retail stores. The rise in machine revenue has helped offset the decrease in the over-the-counter bets during this down economy.