Some bad luck on soccer and horseracing contests saw UK bookmaker William Hill end 2016 on a difficult note, with its overall profits falling below projections.
The bookmaker had profits of £260 million, barely making its projections of £260 million to £280 million, the firm reported. That’s a drop from a £291.4 million operating profit reported in 2015.
William Hill had its share of headline in 2016. In July, the bookmaker’s chief executive James Henderson resigned after less than two years in the job. The company also issued a profit warning in March shortly after the Cheltenham Festival horseracing event. The bookmaker also attempted an unsuccessful merger with Amaya Inc. in the fall.
William Hill officials said underlying trends “remain encouraging” in a trading statement, but said gross win margins for the end of the year were below expectations.
“Importantly, the improvements we saw in wagering online and Australia in the second half have continued in recent weeks,” said Philip Bowcock, interim CEO in the statement. “However, all four divisions saw customer-friendly results at the back end of the year, which translated into profits being £20m 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 company will announce its final results for 2016 on February 24.
Also, the bookmaker announced it will revive the Centrebet brand—which it acquired in 2013 with the purchase of SportingBet—in its Australian offerings. William Hill Australia CEO Tom Waterhouse said the brand would reposition itself as “the home of serious race betting.”
