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(Alliance News) - William Hill's trading in the 17 weeks to April 28 has taken a serious hit from the Covid-19 pandemic, but the bookmaker said Friday it is planning a phased reopening of its stores in the second half of 2020.
In the meantime, its customers have been betting on "table tennis and emerging market football", keeping its online sports wagering business in better shape than William Hill first feared.
For the period, total net revenue plunged 27%, with net gaming revenue down 27% and sportbook wagers falling 31%.
In the 10 weeks to March 31 - before national lockdowns in the UK and US came into effect - William Hill's total net revenue slipped 5%, due to a 24% drop in net gaming revenue.
In the period from March 11 to April 28 - during which the firm has had to close its high street stores - total net revenue cratered 58%. Net gaming revenue was down 33% and sportsbooks wagers fell 70%.
In response to this, William Hill looked to cut its cash costs, reducing its monthly cash outflow to GBP15 million and has agreed a covenant waiver until 2021.
The bookmaker said: "We conclude the period in a strong financial position with significant headroom. The outstanding amount on the 2020 bond of GBP203 million is scheduled for repayment in June and we have ensured that capital expenditure related to growth opportunities has been preserved, enabling us to press ahead with our plans to grow the US business and continue to develop our product."
William Hill said the bank covenants for its revolving credit facility have been waived for 2020 and reset for 2021.
The stock was up 3.4% early Friday.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 1.6% at 5,831.40
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Hang Seng: marginally higher at 23,838.23
Nikkei 225: closed up 0.6% at 20,037.47
DJIA: closed up 377.37 points, 1.6%, at 23,625.34
S&P 500: closed up 1.2% at 2,852.50
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GBP: down at USD1.2190 (USD1.2210)
EUR: down at USD1.0799 (USD1.0808)
Gold: up at USD1,735.90 per ounce (USD1,730.24)
Oil (Brent): up at USD31.88 a barrel (USD30.12)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Friday's Key Economic Events still to come
1100 BST Ireland goods exports & imports
1000 CEST Germany gross domestic product - 1st release
1100 CEST EU flash estimate GDP
1100 CEST EU flash estimate employment
1100 CEST EU foreign trade
0830 EDT US Empire State manufacturing survey
0830 EDT US advance monthly sales for retail & food services
0915 EDT US industrial production & capacity utilization
1000 EDT US manufacturing & trade: inventories & sales
1000 EDT US job openings & labor turnover survey
1000 EDT US University of Michigan survey of consumers
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French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has called on his eurozone counterparts to take quick, bold decisions on measures to help Europe weather the coronavirus crisis, ahead of talks on Friday. The Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers has already signed off on three measures providing safety nets for member states, companies and employees, as Europe braces itself for an unprecedented economic meltdown. The most prominent of these, offering eurozone states credit lines worth an overall EUR240 billion, will become operational on Friday following a decision by the eurozone bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism. Far more contentious is a planned recovery fund expected to be worth at least EUR1 trillion, aimed at getting Europe's embattled economy back on its feet.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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MORGAN STANLEY CUTS BP TO 'UNDERWEIGHT' (EQUAL-WEIGHT) - PRICE TARGET 260 PENCE
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SOCGEN CUTS FERGUSON TO 'HOLD' ('BUY') - TARGET 6600 (8000) PENCE
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CREDIT SUISSE INITIATES HISCOX WITH 'OUTPERFORM' - TARGET 950 PENCE
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CREDIT SUISSE INITIATES LANCASHIRE WITH 'OUTPERFORM' - TARGET 750 PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Telecommunications company BT Group is in talks to sell a multibillion pound stake in its Openreach network business to infrastructure investors, the Financial Times reported late Thursday. Three people with direct knowledge of the discussions told FT that potential buyers, including Australian bank Macquarie Group and a sovereign wealth fund, have held talks with BT in the past three weeks. Openreach, which maintains the UK's national broadband network, is the most profitable division within BT and the potential stake sale could value the unit at about GBP20 billion, sources told the newspaper. BT Group closed up 0.7% at 102.15 pence each in London on Thursday, valuing the company at GBP10.09 billion. It was worth almost double that at the start of 2020, however.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Aviation support services firm Signature Aviation said it was able to outperform its market, in an "encouraging sign". For the three months to March 31, US Business & General Aviation flight movements as reported by the FAA were down 8.9%, whereas like-for-like revenue decline in the company's Signature unit was 7.5%. "Our outperformance against the US market, as measured by the FAA flight movements, is therefore an encouraging 140 basis points," the firm added. In the first four months of 2020, Signature Aviation's revenue is down 28%, following a 72% drop in April. Chief Executive Mark Johnstone said: "Encouragingly, we have seen some early signs of an improvement in flight activity in the US in May. Our business continues to have attractive fundamentals and medium-term prospects, and our ability to both manage cost in a timely manner and deliver robust cash generation has contributed to the group being cash flow positive in the month of April."
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National Express said its revenue in April has been halved from the year before but was able to generate positive Ebitda "slightly ahead" of internal expectations. National Express noted it has started selling coach tickets for a "core network" in the UK for a July 1 re-opening.
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Computacenter said its trading in the period from mid-April to mid-May has "accelerated", and has struck some "substantial" Technology Sourcing contracts. "These incremental volumes mean that we now believe that the first half of 2020 will be considerably ahead of the same period of last year," Computacenter added.
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Moneysupermarket.com has appointed Just Eat's CEO Peter Duffy as its own boss, starting from September. Current CEO Mark Lewis is stepping down from the role at the end of August. The newly combined Just Eat Takeaway.com is being led by Takeaway.com founder and chief executive Jitse Groen.
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COMPANIES - MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Online fashion retailer boohoo confirmed it has raised GBP197.7 million from a private placing of 58.1 million shares at 340p each.
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Friday's Shareholder Meetings
Gresham House
William Hill
Phoenix Group
Petrofac
Bank of Ireland Group
Serinus Energy
Signature Aviation
Derwent London
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
