William Hill Online revenue up 1% after “stabilising market share”
London-listed firm reports a 4% rise from the UK online market, although international business falls by same percentage
William Hill today announced a 1% year-on-year rise in online net revenue after modest growth in its flagship UK market helped offset a 4% fall in international revenue.
In a trading update this morning, Hills revealed its UK-facing business had recorded a 4% YoY rise on a pro forma basis during the 17 weeks to 29 October 2019, which it said was consistent with the UK’s current growth rate.
However, international online net revenue fell 4% compared to the same period last year due to “regulatory headwinds”, including the closure of Switzerland and disruption to payment methods across Europe.
Meanwhile, the operator’s US business continues to grow strongly following a net revenue rise of 60% (53% in local currency), with Hills recently going live in Indiana and Iowa’s sports betting markets.
On a statutory basis, online net revenue was up 26% year-on-year in the 17-week period with a 51% increase in gaming revenue. Sportsbook amounts wagered fell 7%.
According to Hills, it is planning to roll out a number of new technology improvements across the business, including a new sportsbook front-end platform in Italy and Spain in Q4 2019.
“During my first months as CEO I have been focused on how we can improve our competitiveness whilst ensuring we continue to deliver on our strategic ambitions and I am pleased to confirm we remain on track to meet our full year expectation,” William Hill CEO, Ulrik Bengtsson, said.
He added: “We have remodelled the UK retail estate, while the UK Online business has benefited from a series of customer facing improvements evidenced in the stabilising market share in the last two quarters.
“In addition, we expect our International Online business to benefit from a number of important product improvements that will be delivered over the coming quarters.”
Last month, EGR revealed William Hill had kicked off a major restructuring of its senior management, including the creation of new COO and chief technology and product officer positions.
William Hill’s share price was down 1.24% to 176.88 on the London Stock Exchange at the time of writing.