888 Holdings’ William Hill Keeps the Status Quo in 2022

William Hill Limited, a UK-based subsidiary of Gibraltar-based 888 Holdings, has published its annual financial report for 2022, a flat year in which foreign exchange gains helped the business to profit.

Betting Shops Saved the Day

For the 52 weeks ended December 27, 2022, William Hill generated net revenue of £1.2353 billion ($1.5688 billion), ending the year marginally down, 0.5%, from £1.2414 billion ($1.5766 billion) the business registered in 2021.

The result was mainly due to William Hill’s Retail division, which saw a return of people to the betting shops as there were no lockdowns in the period and delivered net revenue of £514.2 million ($653 million), a 53% increase on the previous year’s result of £336.8 million ($427.74 million).

The increase in Retail was offset by the drop in both UK Online and International businesses: online operations in the UK accounted for net revenue of £509.1 million ($646.6 million), a drop of 19% from £628.6 million ($798.3 million) registered in 2021, while the International business generated 23% less, £212 million ($269.2 million), as compared to £276 million ($350.5 million) in 2021.

The revenue decrease from online operations in the UK was influenced by the return of people to the betting shops, as well as the implementation of enhanced customer safety checks in preparation for the upcoming white paper on the ongoing review of the Gambling Act 2005. International was impacted by additional regulatory measures and William Hill’s departure from the Netherlands.

EBITDA, Operating Loss, Profit after Tax

The group’s Adjusted EBITDA for the period was £214.8 million ($272.8 million), an impressive 32% increase from £161.7 million ($205.4 million) in 2021. Across the divisions, Retail accounted for £95.7 million ($121.5 million) (£0.1 million in 2021), UK Online added £112.2 million ($142.5 million) (£153.5 million in 2021), and International contributed £33.1 million ($42 million) (£34.1 million in 2021).

Exceptional items and adjustments increased from a loss of £99.4 million ($126.2 million) in 2021 to a loss of £148.7 million ($188.8 million) due to deal-related costs and an increase in legal provisions.

William Hill registered an operating loss of £31 million ($39.4 million), down 52.7% from £65.5 million ($83.2 million) in 2021, due to a reduction in marketing expenses.

A one-off foreign exchange gain of £198.8 million ($252.5 million) on financing items as a result of exchange differences on the group’s debt to its parent helped profit after tax increase to £168.4 million ($213.9 million) and reverse the previous year’s loss of £58.9 million ($74.8 million).