William Hill US revenue up 121% in Q4 despite wider group losses
Operator launched in five new states during Q4 and absorbed all of Caesars' retail sportsbooks onto in-house platform
William Hill has reported a full-year 2020 revenue drop of 16% to £1.32bn ($1.8bn) in its penultimate trading update before being taken over by casino giant Caesars Entertainment.
Despite the downturn, Hills’ US operations proved the strongest growth area during the year, with full-year net revenue rocketing by 32%.
For Q4, the operator reported a 9% year-on-year rise in net revenue.
Hills launched online and mobile sportsbook operations in five new states, leading to 121% net revenue growth in the US during the final three months of 2020.
The operator completed the migration of all of Caesars’ retail sportsbook onto the Hills platform during the year, and its odds were featured across both ESPN and CBS Sports’ multiple platforms.
Group sportsbook net revenue rose by 20% for the period, thanks to a 16% increase in sportsbook staking during the period amid a busy sports calendar.
“2020 was a year like no other,” said William Hill CEO Ulrik Bengtsson. “It tested our agility and flexibility and we delivered, keeping our customers and team safe, while materially improving our competitive position through product enhancements and geographical expansion.”
In November, William Hill shareholders approved a £2.9bn ($3.7bn) takeover bid from US joint venture partner Caesars. The takeover could complete as soon as March.
William Hill CEO Ulrik Bengtsson
Bengtsson explained: “The offer received for the group recognises the substantial progress we have made as well as the opportunities and challenges ahead of us.
“Customer, team, execution have been our guiding lights through this unusual year and they will remain so as we look forward through 2021,” he added.
Regulus Partners analyst Paul Leyland said the Q4 figures marked an impressive end to the year, but suggested they were primarily driven by favourable sports margins.
“William Hill has plenty of excuses for a weak 2020 and Q4 looks better than the previous four quarters from an operational perspective as well as just sports margin luck,” he explained.
“US FY revenue grew by 32%, held back by retail disruption and – far less forgivably – the lack of any meaningful igaming footprint (online casino was soft-launched in NJ only in October, rather missing the gold rush); Q4 revenue growth of 121% (live in 5 new states; mobile launch in 5 states) can still keep revenue extrapolations pointing to the stars, however,” the note read.