William Hill figures show signs of progress

By Mary Wilson

William Hill, one of the foremost names in the international gaming industry, has suffered a difficult few months after a run of unusually poor results. New figures, however, indicate a healthier looking company with gross win margins for the fourth quarter back to 17-18%. William Hill’s shares have risen from 9.2p to 194.8p, a statistic which represents the sharpest increase to feature on the mid-cap FTSE 250 index. William Hill Online, a further branch associated with Playtech, declared that annual earnings were up by an impressive figure of 35%.

William Hill was among many firms to suffer setback towards the end of 2010. A long lasting stint of bad weather disrupted both racing and footballing ventures. Commenting on the impact of the snowfall, Nigel Parson from Evolution Securities noted that the poor weather has “wreaked havoc with racing in the last month” resulting in serious losses for the industry. Simon French of Panmure Gordon suggested the importance of the “high levels of horse racing and football cancellations” which may have longer lasting effects than imagined. Others, meanwhile, hope that the World Cup will restore William Hill to its former position in what promises to be the number one sporting event of the calendar.

Analysts at Jefferies International have issued a buy note with an optimistic message. “The online sportsbook in particular is performing ahead of expectations, with materially better margins than current consensus implies”. It remains to be seen how the year will unfold. What remains certain is that all member of the gaming community will be keeping their eyes on one of the most important and popular bookmakers around.