William Hill announces impressive Q2 growth

iam Hill has announced impressive growth over all four of its divisions in the first half of 2017. Group net revenue was up 3% to £837.0m in the H1 period. The results are impressive considering that last year saw the Euro 2016 Championships creating a large influx of Sportsbook wagers before the end of the H1 period.

Therefore William Hill have impressed by attaining solid growth in a less popular waging period as they begin to focus on the US and Australian markets.

The UK online market continues to be an impressive sector of growth, with UK Sportsbook amounts wagered increasing 13% and UK gaming net revenue up 9%. Retail shops have also have shown signs of positive growth albeit at a slower pace;, with the amounts wagered up 2% and gaming net revenue up 3%.

Philip Bowcock, Chief Executive Officer of William Hill, commented: "The first half of 2017 has seen good progress against our three strategic priorities and wagering growth across all four divisions.

"Our product improvements combined with improved marketing have seen both existing customers respond positively and the number of new customers start growing again during the period. As a result we are seeing good momentum building in Online’s performance. In Retail we made market share gains, with growth in both sports betting, despite the lack of a major international football tournament, and gaming revenues.

"Earlier in the year we targeted £40m of annualised savings as part of our transformation programme and we are on track to deliver this by the year-end. In addition to these savings, the programme has sparked initiatives to further improve our products and customer experience, accelerate our top-line growth and increase efficiency. We are confident about delivering a good outturn in 2017 and beyond."

Commenting on the newly released results, Warwick Bartlett Chief Executive & Owner of GBGC adds: "William Hill signed for the Racing Partnership toward the end of 2016 so had the benefit of six months trading with increased televised coverage of British horse racing. 

"It does beg the question whether the increased cost of buying televised media rights from so many sellers is worth it. Has the industry now got to the point of diminished returns where the price for a declining product far outweighs the economic benefit?"