US operations help William Hill’s forecasts

The UK-based operator has revealed that growth in US operations has helped offset retail business in the UK and forecasts remain on track.

UK.- Regulatory changes in the UK have impacted William Hill’s retail business, but as the operator reported in its latest trading update, US operations have helped increase overall revenues by 1% in the period between July 3 and October 29.

William Hill said that on a like-for-like basis, retail net revenue fell 16% but the results were in line with expectations. “Gaming trends are improving incrementally as customer behaviour adjusts following the implementation of the £2 maximum staking limit,” said the company.

During that period, around 700 were closed as the group decided to take action to counterattack the cut in the maximum stake on FOBTs.

On the other hand, the US business continues to deliver on its retail and mobile strategy to be a US market leader, generating strong growth with net revenue increasing 60%.

Ulrik Bengtsson, CEO, commented: “In the US our business has gone from strength to strength. We have excellent market access, a valuable partnership with Eldorado and we are excited about the potential that is presented by the combination with Caesars.

“We have remodelled the UK retail estate, while the UK Online business has benefited from a series of customer-facing improvements evidenced in the stabilising market share in the last two quarters. In addition, we expect our International Online business to benefit from a number of important product improvements that will be delivered over the coming quarters.

“We undoubtedly have great people and a shared vision at William Hill. Our job now is to push on and do even better in terms of customer focus and execution.”