William Hill sees profit at top-end on soccer boost

Bookmaker William Hill said it expected to report operating profit at the top end of analysts' expectations after a strong third-quarter helped by favourable football results and the later stages of the World Cup.
The company, which has a high-street and an online presence, said net revenue grew 22%, with Internet revenue up 35% against 16% growth for retail, and group operating profit rose 64% in the 13 weeks to September 28.
Chief executive Ralph Topping said: "We have seen an ongoing positive performance from our growing online business and from machines which, when allied to a period of very favourable sports results, have driven strong net revenue performance."
He said the group was well placed for the final quarter, although wider economic concerns kept it cautious for 2011.
Analysts expect the group to report operating profit for the year of 253 mln pounds, with a range of 247 mln to 262 mln pounds, according to a company-supplied consensus.
Investec analysts Paul Leyland upgraded his expectation for 2010 earnings per share by 5.5% to 19.3 pence and pretax profit by 4.5% to 200.6 mln pounds after the update.
"This was driven almost entirely by a better than average football margin and so we are not changing 2011E forecasts," he said in a note on Thursday.
"However, we are encouraged that William Hill has clearly beaten Ladbrokes on every line and continues to deliver strong growth in machines."