Ladbrokes pre-tax profit slumps for 2014

ator Ladbrokes has reported a 44% decrease in pre-tax profit for the full year 2014, on the same day it confirmed 60 shop closures.

The pre-tax profit of £37.7m is almost a £30m drop from 2013’s £67.6m figure, which itself was a drop of over two-thirds.

Ladbrokes admitted that the cost of operating low-profit stores and unfavourable results on Boxing Day – where it registered its worst ever football loss of £8m – impacted on the full-year results.

Outgoing CEO Richard Glynn made the expected announcement that 60 more shops were to cease operating, on top of the 50 planned closures that were revealed in February last year and the 60 closures that were confirmed in October.

Glynn said: “It’s inevitable that there will be more [store closures] going forward.

"Whilst recognising there are regulatory headwinds, Ladbrokes is confident in its plans for 2015.

"Strong operational delivery delivered a second half of growth as envisaged, but the £8m hit on Boxing Day did take some of the shine off our performance."

Glynn added that Ladbrokes would be placing more of its focus on digital and international growth this year, with digital revenue being up 23% for 2014.