William Hill FY operating profit seen ahead of expectations; CFO to leave

William Hill said on Monday that adjusted operating profit for 2019 is set to come in ahead of market and management expectations, as it announced the departure of chief financial officer Ruth Prior.

The company expects operating profit of between £143m to £148m, thanks to favourable sporting results through the year end. This is down from the £234m reported a year earlier but better than consensus expectations of £130m.

The group also announced that Prior plans to step down as CFO and as a director to return to the private equity sector. She will be joining Elementis Materials Technology. Her departure date will be determined in due course and the search for a successor has already begun.

In an update for the year to the end of December, the company said its retail business generated operating profit above the guided range of £50m to £70m as it experienced "particularly favourable" sporting results in December, above the long-term gross win margin range. Gaming also performed ahead of expectations.

The UK online business grew in line with the market for the third consecutive quarter. William Hill said weakness in gaming net revenue was offset by a strong sporting gross win margin. The international online segment put in a mixed performance, meanwhile, with net revenue expected to be broadly flat on a pro forma basis during the fourth quarter. Sports book net revenue was weak while a good performance in gaming was driven by Swedish bookmaker Mr Green.

The US business continued to generate "strong" growth in the fourth quarter, driven by wagering growth and disciplined investment, it said. William Hill now expects the US business to be breakeven overall in 2019, having previously guided to between no profit and a $20m loss.

Chief executive officer Ulrik Bengtsson said: "The group has delivered a strong operating performance, ahead of our expectations and against a challenging regulatory backdrop.

"We made good progress on a number of fronts, including our retail business, online and in the US, enabling us to deliver on our long term strategic ambitions. We look forward to building on these efforts in 2020 with a strong focus on customer, team and execution."