Bookmaker William Hill today hailed the popularity of its internet business as it toasted a 29% hike in half yearly profits. The London-based group said operating profits soared by 50% to £24.2 million at the interactive division, which allows punters to place bets via the internet. This included strong growth at all sections of the arm, including online casino and poker games, while sports betting arm Sportsbook benefited from favourable horse racing and football results. The bookmaker also said it was on course to launch William Hill TV next month - a 24-hour television channel that will allow punters to bet on games such as virtual horse racing and roulette. The performance contributed to underlying profits at William Hill rising to £131.2 million during the 26 weeks to June 29. William Hill's other two divisions - its UK betting shops and telephone gambling - also boosted fortunes with double digit growth in gross win. Chairman Charles Scott said: "The group has continued to achieve good levels of growth in gross win and profitability in each of its channels throughout the period." Despite this, results for the eight weeks to August 24 showed gross win rose at a slower rate of 8%, as horse racing results were less favourable to bookmakers. Mr Scott said he was confident in the outlook for the group and proposed a "significant" increase in the interim dividend to 5.5p per share from 3.5p. The roll out of fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) in the group's high street outlets continued to boost the retail division, which is the biggest part of the business and saw a 15% rise in gross win. This included a 45% hike in income from FOBTs and amusement with prizes machines. During the period, William Hill increased the number of FOBTs to 3,658 from 1,942 at the same time last year, and plans to have 5,200 by the end of the financial year. William Hill, which has 1,587 betting offices, said operating profits at the retail division rose to £97.1 million from £80.6 million. The telephone gambline arm benefited from favourable horse racing results and results from Euro 2004 among other things. At the bottom line, pre-tax profits increased to £118.4 million from £85.1 million last time, while turnover was 42% higher at £3.89 billion.

Monday September 06, 2004