(Alliance News) - Bookmaker William Hill PLC on Wednesday said third-quarter performance was "robust" due to the return of live sporting events and reopening of the retail estate.
The company, which has agreed a GBP2.9 billion takeover deal from US casino operator Caesars Entertainment Inc, said net revenue fell just 9% annually in the 13 weeks to September 29, compared with the 32% plunge seen in the first half.
Online net revenue improved 4% in the third quarter, and the retail like-for-like fall eased to 2% from a sharp 49% decline in the lockdown-hit first half. In the US, net revenue was 10% higher versus a 28% drop in the first half.
"Our third-quarter performance was encouraging across all of our divisions, demonstrating a resumption in good growth in both our UK and International online operations, with our UK Retail business trading broadly on par with last year on a like-for-like basis," William Hill explained.
"The live sporting calendar has resumed, delivering a strong complement of fixtures across football, horse racing, tennis and American sports. However, fixture lists remain out of step with prior years and with many events continuing to be held behind closed doors, results have been more unpredictable than normal. As a result, we continue to see volatile gross win margins, and we would expect this situation to continue," the company added.
William Hill, in light of the good performance and cash preservation measures, has decided to repay the UK government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme cash it received, amounting to GBP24.5 million.
The company, which operates 1,414 shops in total, currently has 10% of its retail estate in regions where the local Covid-19 alert level is classified as "very high" by the UK government. Under Tier 3 restrictions, betting shops are required to close.
It estimates that, on average, it stands to lose GBP2 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation upon the closure of 100 shops for four weeks, excluding any benefits from government job support schemes.
Shares in FTSE 250-listed William Hill were 0.1% higher at 280.20 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.
By Tapan Panchal; tapanpanchal@alliancenews.com
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