William Hill announces £300 million buyback, first half profits hit |
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Published
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Mon, 05 Sep 2005 19:05
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LONDON - Britain's largest bookmaker William Hill has reported a 6 percent dip in pre-tax first-half profits on Monday due to a series of correct calls in sporting results by the punters. But this announcement had no negative effect on shares as the group also announced its intention to buy back £300 million worth of shares over a period of next 18 months.
The first half pre-tax profits upto June 28 stood at £99.7 million as against the £119.7 million that the group had reported at the same time last year. This year's figure was considerably lower than the £107.2 million predicted by several analysts. However, the total sales jumped by 30 percent to £5.1 billion in the first six months to June 28. And as the news of the intended buyback spread, William Hill shares rose by 9 pence to 600 pence, an increase of 1.5 percent.
Over the last year, these shares have risen almost 10 percent, a pointer towards the success enjoyed by the company. "In common with other bookmakers, the group's results in the period were adversely affected by sporting results, compared to generally more favorable results and the Euro 2004 football tournament in the first half of 2004," observed group Chairman Charles Scott. The total earnings had jumped by 40 percent when rank outsiders Greece upset all calculations to capture Euro 2004. The earnings were also aided by the fact that top horses failed to perform at the Cheltenham National Hunt festival, where heavy bets are placed.
The group also said that the acquisition of 624 Stanley Leisure betting shops in June in a deal worth £504 million was paying dividends and that it had included 10 days results for these shops in its recent report. The bookmaker has decided to increase the interim dividend by 11 per cent to 6.1 pence a share.
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