Hills pulls away from online rivals
Bookmaker steals a march on rivals such as Ladbrokes after net revenue grows by 26% in the first quarter of 2011.
William Hill has stolen another march on its main rival Ladbrokes in the retail brands’ battle to succeed online by posting 26% net revenue growth and a 28% rise in operating profits for the first three months of this year.
Earlier this month Ladbrokes saw its online revenue for the first quarter of this year compared to 2010 creep up 1.2%, while its sports revenue fell 5.3% on the back of a poor Cheltenham festival and its high exposure to horse racing.
William Hill’s sports book, meanwhile performed strongly with net revenue up 54%. This was driven by a 62% increase in amounts wagered, including growth of 138% in in-play amounts wagered and a 786% climb in mobile betting amounts wagered with the steep rise due to it being a new revenue stream for the business.
William Hill Online experienced strong growth in all three verticals despite the first quarter of 2010 including income from the group’s French business prior to its closure in June last year. Bingo revenue rose 30% and continued to deliver “the fastest growth”, the operator said in a statement with poker and casino also up 16% and 13% respectively. Underlying gaming net revenue, excluding French revenue in 2010, grew by 30%, the statement added.
The online business delivered £29.8m of operating profit in the period, up 28% on the previous year. Playtech’s non-controlling interest was £8.7m.
On the injunction William Hill took out to prevent Playtech, its joint venture partner, from selling its stake in William Hill Online and working with its rivals including Ladbrokes, the operator said it would “remain in place” until a further court hearing expected to take place in mid-May.