Bookmakers William Hill have been hit by “customer friendly” results, which have reduced their profit forecast for the full year by £20 million.
The group cited “unfavourable football and horse-racing results” as having an impact on the sector throughout December, pushing gross win margins down below initial expectations. As a result, William Hill said it forecast full-year operating profit for 2016 to be around £260 million, at the bottom end of the original guidance of between £260 and 280 million.
Philip Bowcock, interim CEO, said in a statement: “Importantly, the improvements we saw in wagering in Online and Australia in the second half have continued in recent weeks. However, all four divisions saw customer-friendly results at the back end of the year, which translated into profits being cGBP20m below our prior expectations. With key underlying trends continuing to be positive, the recent run of sporting results have not changed our confidence in a better performance in 2017.”
The results come in the midst of several big takeovers in the sector, with William Hill being the subject of speculation. The group has received interest from the sector’s big players, including 888 Holdings and Rank Group, who both made offers worth over £3 billion. Thus far William Hill has rejected all approached.
The company’s 2016 final results will be announced on Friday, 24 February 2017. William Hill (LON:WMH) shares are currently trading down 3.02 percent (1022GMT).