Half-year results for William Hill (WMH) played well with the market as its shares registered a double-digit increase on their release. The bookie reported that both the online and retail divisions had met or exceeded the UK market growth rates. Domestic customers bet 13 per cent more in the online sportsbook, pushing UK gaming net turnover up by 9 per cent. In the betting shops the amount wagered was up 2 per cent, contributing to a relatively modest 3 per cent increase in gaming net revenue, although that was without the benefit of a major international football tournament.
Revenue growth across the group would have been better had it not been for unfavourable football results that weakened gross win margins. This pushed down adjusted operating profit by 1 per cent, although that was still an improvement on the 10 per cent decline at the full-year results. Australian customers bet 28 per cent more than the same time last year, helping to improve net turnover in this division up by a quarter to £58.5m. The US was similar, with the amounts bet and revenue both up by around a third.
Analysts at Stifel expect pre-tax profit of £224m in the year to December, giving a EPS of 22.5p, compared with £214m and 22.3p in FY2016.
| WILLIAM HILL (WMH) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 274p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 2.35bn | |
| TOUCH: | 273.8-274p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 351p | LOW: 244p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.5% | PE RATIO: | 19 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 144p* | NET DEBT: | 49% | |
| Half-year to 27 June | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2016 | 814 | 101 | 9.7 | 4.10 |
| 2017 | 837 | 94 | 9.5 | 4.26 |
| % change | +3 | -7 | -2 | +4 |
| Ex-div: | 26 Oct | |||
| Payment: | 30 Nov | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £1.8bn, or 211p a share | ||||
