William Hill operating profit up 124% in Q3
Sports betting margin jumps 3.1% in period with mobile and in-play turnover growing strongly
Strong growth in mobile gaming and a healthy sports betting margin drove online operating profit up a stunning 124% in Q3 for William Hill, the operator reported this morning.
Sportsbook net revenue doubled year-on-year on the back of an 18% rise in amounts wagered, as sports margin rose from 6.8% to 9.4% for the period.
Growth in sportsbook turnover was driven by in-play betting, which rose by 35% in the period, although the in-play margin was just 5.8% compared to 12.6% for pre-match betting.
Mobile sportsbook revenue was up 38%, with the channel responsible for 48% of sportsbook turnover in the period.
“The Group performed strongly in Q3 driven by both favourable sporting results and the continued development of our UK and international businesses,” James Henderson, William Hill CEO, said.
Gaming put in a strong performance in the quarter with 23% net revenue growth driven by a strong performance in mobile gaming, which was up 118% in the period.
The results were flattered by a correspondingly poor quarter in 2013, and benefitted from two weeks of the World Cup, but Henderson said the operator’s mobile performance was a real highlight.
“Online gaming continues to benefit from our investment in mobile and sportsbook turnover growth remains healthy,” Henderson added.
Casino remained the star performer in gaming with net revenue up 29% and the firm’s in-house designed Vegas platform accounting for 60% of casino revenue.
Bingo was up 4% in the period, while poker continued to underperform with revenue down 20%.
Henderson also praised the group’s international growth, with William Hill Australia operating profit up 199% for the year-to-date and its dot.country brands performing well.
“In Italy, we became number one in online sports betting in July with a 14% market share and in Spain we have further increased our online sports betting market share to 20%,” Henderson said.