William Hill (WMH) is taking a gamble on expansion into the US market. The company could win big, but it will cost them. The UK bookie announced that operating profit for 2018 would be around £234m – a 15 per cent drop compared with 2017, but in line with previous guidance of between £225m and £245m.
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The decline in profits is largely due to the cost on growing the US business and the impact of enhanced customer due diligence measures in its online division. Analysts at Numis estimate that US expansion has so far cost around £35m, while enhanced due diligence hit online profitability by about £27m. Without these costs, adjusted operating profit would have increased 4 per cent on last year.
