William Hill 2019 outlook in line as U.S. expansion ramps up

[March 01, 2019]   (Reuters) - British bookmaker William Hill Plc said on Friday that 2019 results would be in line with market expectations while reporting a slight dip in full-year adjusted operating profit, as it booked more costs to expand in the U.S.

 A branded sign is displayed outside a William Hill betting shop in London, Britain July 25, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo

British betting companies have been pushing into the United States market because of tighter regulations at home and after the U.S. Supreme Court decided to overturn a federal ban on sports betting.

William Hill has put money into a digital launch in New Jersey and has started operations or expanded in six states, and the investments resulted in a net adjusted operating loss of 33.2 million pounds in 2018.

The company also closed a "significant" number of customer accounts after it stepped up its due diligence checks and faced higher costs from a remote gaming duty that applies to gaming over the internet and telephone.

Adjusted operating profit fell to 233.6 million pounds ($309.52 million) for the 53 weeks ended Jan. 1 from 273.8 million pounds reported for the 52 weeks ended Dec. 26, 2017.

On a statutory basis, the company posted a loss before tax of 721.9 million pounds, compared with a profit of 146.5 million pounds, last year.

The loss included a 882.2 million pound non-cash write-down of its retail business after the UK government's decision to cut stakes on gambling machines to 2 pounds.

Revenue rose 2 percent to 1.62 billion pounds.

(Reporting by Tanishaa Nadkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)

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